By Sam Volz: Vasyl Lomachenko said he was impressed with the sparring that he did with Shakur Stevenson years ago at 126 and 130. Lomachenko says Stevenson was an advanced fighter, having competed in the 2016 Olympics.
Lomachenko (16-2, 11 KOs) said that when he sparred Ryan Garcia, it was just three rounds, and he was just a kid. Loma says he didn’t know who Ryan was when he came into his gym for a few rounds of sparring.
Now, Lomachenko says Ryan has grown up and is a different fighter from the one that he sparred with.
Lomachenko is fighting this month against unbeaten Jamaine Ortiz (16-0-1, 8 KOs) in a 12 round bout on ESPN on October 29th at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Ortiz is fresh off 10 round unanimous decision victory over former WBO super featherweight champion Jamel Herring, and he’s expected to give Lomachenko a tough fight. Loma hasn’t seen action since last December when he defeated Richard Commey.
“I fought with Shakur during a sparring session, but I never fought with Devin Haney,” said Vasyl Lomachenko to Fighthype tonight. “I can’t compare. He’s a good boxer, a smart boxer, very technical boxer, and it was a good sparring session,” said Lomachenko about Shakur.
“When I sparred with him, it was 126 and 130 pounds. Now he’s much bigger. I think he has much more power. So now it’ll be much more interesting.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” said Lomachenko when asked if Stevenson looked good in his last performance against Robson Conceicao. “For me, it was more interesting to spar with Shakur,” said Lomachenko when asked to compare his sparring with Shakur and Ryan Garcia.
“I sparred with him five or six times and with Ryan Garcia just three rounds. That’s it. When I sparred with Ryan Garcia, I didn’t know about him. I just prepared for my next fight, and he came into my gym. We sparred a couple of rounds, that’s it.
“Then I sparred with Shakur. I know about him. I know he was a silver medalist Olympic games. I know he understands boxing, so it was good. Now, we are more professional; now, we have more experience. Now it’s different,” said Lomachenko when asked to discuss Ryan Garcia’s improvement.
“Now, he’s like a professional boxer. When I sparred with Ryan Garcia, he was a kid. Now he has power and boxing professional experience, speed, and IQ. The same with Gervonta Davis.
“I’m motivated very, very good because I have a goal; I have a dream to be undisputed world champion. Now I’m closer to my next chance. I have my next fight on October 29th in New York.
“If it happens very good for me, I hope we can organize a fight with the winner of Kambosos and Haney,” said Lomachenko.
