Roman Martinez

By Patrick McHugh: Despite coming into tonight’s fight as the challenger, Vasyl Lomachenko (5-1, 3 KOs) will be receiving the lion’s share of the purse in his bout against WBO super featherweight champion Roman “Rocky” Martinez (29-2-3, 17 KOs) on HBO Boxing After Dark at Madison Square Garden in New York. Lomachenko will be getting a purse of $850,000 as the challenger. Martinez, 33, will be receiving half as much at $425,000, according to Dan Rafael.

The co-feature bout between WBO Latino lightweight champion Felix Verdejo (21-0, 14 KOs) and Juan Jose Martinez (25-2, 17 KOs) will see a similar disparity. Verdejo is getting $125,000 compared to $15,000 for the 29-year-old Martinez.

“Purses for Lomachenko-Martinez card: Martinez $425k, Lomachenko $850k, Verdejo $125k, Martinez $15k. #boxing,” said Rafael on his Twitter.

By Dan Ambrose: WBO super featherweight champion Roman “Rocky” Martinez (29-2-3, 17 KOs) is seen by many boxing fans as the underdog going into his title defense this Saturday night against two-time Olympic gold medalist Vasyl Lomachenko (5-1, 3 KOs) for their fight on HBO at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Martinez and Lomachenko share a common opponent in Orlando Salido, who Martinez has a 1-0-1 record against and Lomachenko a loss to him. However, Martinez clearly lost to Salido last September in their fight that was scored a 12 round draw.

By Eric Baldwin: Vasyl Lomachenko (5-1, 3 KOs) will be moving up in weight in a little over a week to take on WBO super featherweight champion Roman “Rocky” Martinez (29-2-3, 17 KOs) for his title on HBO Championship Boxing on June 11 from Madison Square Garden in New York.

The 28-year-old Lomachenko will be looking to win his 2nd division world title. He’s got a great chance of accomplishing that fete, as Martinez is coming off of a bad beating at the hands of Orlando Salido last September, and he arguably should no longer be the WBO 130lb champion after receiving a 12 round draw in a fight that he clearly lost in the eyes of many boxing fans.

By Chris Williams: Top Rank plans on announcing the title fight next week between WBO super featherweight champion Roman “Rocky” Martinez (29-2-3, 17 KOs) and Vasyl Lomachenko (5-1, 3 KOs) on Thursday. The two fighters will be facing each other in two months from now on June 11 on HBO at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Also on the card will be WBO Latino lightweight champion Felix Verdejo (21-0, 14 KOs) defending his strap against an opponent still to be determined. Hopefully, Top Rank will match Verdejo against a good opponent because it’s time that he starts facing better opposition.

By Dan Ambrose: Top Rank promoter Bob Arum was unable to setup a fight between his two Top Rank fighters WBO featherweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko (5-1, 3 KOs) and former WBA featherweight champion Nicholas Walters (26-0-1, 21 KOs) after Walters reportedly priced himself out of the fight by asking for more than the fight was willing to pay.

Instead of making the Lomachenko-Walters fight, Arum is now working on matching Lomachenko against WBO super featherweight champion Roman “Rocky” Martinez (29-2-3, 17 KOs) for a fight on June 11 on HBO Championship Boxing at Madison Square Garden in New York. Lomachenko will be moving up in weight to super featherweight to challenge Martinez for his fight.