Vasiliy Lomachenko

What is next for Lomachenko and Gary Russell jr?

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russell333By Paul Richardson: As predicted two-time Olympic gold medalist Vasyl Lomachenko (2-1, 1KO) dominated heavily hyped American Gary Russell jr. (24-1, 14KO’s) at the stub-hub centre in Carson, California last Saturday night. Lomachenko becomes only the second fighter in history to win a world title in his third pro fighter after Thailand’s Saensak Muangsurin in 1975.

The official scorecards of 114-114, 116-112, and 116-112 were puzzling to say the least as the skilled amateur veteran outclassed his opponent for almost the whole twelve rounds. Gary Russell’s flashy fast hands seemed to befuddle Lomachenko for perhaps the first half of the first round, but from then on was pretty much all Lomachenko. I think you really would have the be biased in favor of the 26 year old Maryland native to even give him three rounds.

Will Arum let Donaire fight Lomachenko next?

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lomachenko99By Chris Williams: Now that Vasyl Lomachenko (2-1, 1 KO’s) has captured the vacant WBA featherweight title after beating #1 WBO Gary Russell Jr last night by virtue of his 12 round majority decision, the question now on the minds of many boxing fans is will Bob Arum of Top Rank let WBA Super World featherweight champion Nonito Donaire (33-2, 21 KO’s) fight Lomachenko in a unification bout in November or December of this year or will Arum steer the better known Donaire around the Ukrainian fighter to safer waters where Donaire can have a better chance of keeping his WBA title?

We’re already hearing that Donaire might not be giving a rematch against Simpiwe Vetyeka despite the fact that he said he would after their fight from last month ended after just 5 rounds due to Donaire suffering a cut over his eye. For a challenger to win a title off of a cut that he himself suffered is kind of an off-putting way of winning a belt, especially if the challenger doesn’t give the champion a rematch. That right there is going to look bad if Donaire fails to give Vetyeka a rematch.

Russell Jr wants rematch with Lomachenko

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lomachenko3By Allan Fox: #1 WBO Gary Russell Jr (24-1, 14 KO’s) gave a good effort but came up empty-handed last night in losing to a bigger, stronger and more experienced fighter in Vasyl Lomachenko (2-1, 1 KO’s) in losing a 12 round majority decision for their scrap for the vacant WBO featherweight belt at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.

Lomachenko, 26, isn’t more experienced as a pro, but with his 397 amateur fights and two Olympic gold medals under his belt, he was too polished a fighter for Russell Jr to deal with, especially with the type of soft opponents that Russell Jr had been matched against in his fights before last night’s bout. Lomachenko had a record of 396-1 as an amateur, and he clearly was the real deal coming into last night’s fight.

Lomachenko needs to fight with more urgency

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lomachenko566789By Eric Thomas: Two time Olympic gold medalist Vasyl Lomachenko (2-1, 1 KO’s) took advantage of his size and power advantage over the 5’4” Gary Russell Jr (24-1, 14 KO’s) last Saturday night to pound out a 12 round majority decision to win the vacant WBO featherweight title. The fight should have been much more one-sided than it was had Lomachenko shown a bit more urgency with his offense.

Lomachenko was fighting at such a slow pace that he generally gave away the first couple of minutes of every round and then could on in the last minute to land some big body shots to steal the rounds. It was single punches for the most part with Lomachenko in winning by the scores of 116-112, 116-112, and 114-114.

Guerrero beats Kamegai; Lomachenko tops Russell Jr; Alexander dominates Soto Karass

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guerrero4455By Jim Dower: In a fight of the year candidate, Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero (32-2-1, 18 KO’s) defeated Yoshihiro Kamegai (24-2-1, 21 KO’s) in a tougher than expected fight on Saturday night at the StubHub Center in Carson, California. The final judges’ scores were 116-112, 117-111, and 117-111.

Guerrero took a great deal of punishment in the fight from the hard hitting Kamegai, and ended up with a nearly swollen shut left eye.

After the fight Guerrero showed little interest when Keith Thurman’s name was mentioned as a potential opponent for him by Showtime’s Jim Gray. Guerrero said “I fell into his style. I wanted to please the fans. He hit me with some big shots and some big body shots. I took them well though.”

Purses: Guerrero $1M, Kamegai $75k; Lomachenko $631,500, Russell $ 421k, Alexander $450K

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guerrero6678By Dan Ambrose: In what will sure to surprise a lot of boxing fans, Robert Guerrero (31-2-1, 18 KO’s) will be by far the highest paid fighter on Saturday’s Showtime fight card from the StubHub Center in Carson, California. Guerrero, 31, will be getting $1 million for his fight against little known contender Yoshihiro Kamegai (24-1-1, 21 KO’s) for their non-title fight.

According to Steve Kim, Guerrero is getting the $1 million because of his deal to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr last May included a minimum for his return fight.

Weights: Guerrero-Kamegai, Lomachenko-Russell Jr

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guerrero3333By Dan Ambrose: Welterweight contender Robert Guerrero (31-2-1, 18 KO’s) weighed in today at 146 pounds for his fight against Yoshihiro Kamegai (24-1-1, 21 KO’s) for their fight on Saturday night at the StubHub Center in Carson, California. Kamegai weighed in at 146.7lbs, and looked considerably taller than the 5’8” Guerrero, who has always been the taller fighter in his bouts.

It was strange to see Guerrero staring up at Kamegai. It’ll be interesting to see how well Guerrero deals with being the smaller man on Saturday night.

Lomachenko takes a career risk against Russell Jr

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LA-WKOT-Lomachenko(Picture credit: Hogan Photos) By Dan Ambrose: #4 WBO Vasyl Lomachenko (1-1) will be taking a big career risk this Saturday night against the more experienced #1 WBO Gary Russell Jr (24-0, 14 KO’s) in an ill-advised fight for the vacant WBO featherweight title at the StubHub Center, in Carson, California, USA. Lomachenko was already exposed in his last fight in getting out-worked and out-punching by the older Orlando Salido last March.

Instead of learning his lesson in that he didn’t have the experience to be fighting for world titles, Lomachenko has decided to fight for the same time for a second time. He was given a huge break by the World Boxing Organization with them ranking him high and ordering a fight between him and Russell Jr. What the WBO did was unheard, because you don’t see fighters with 1-1 records being given world title shots in the sport.

Vasyl Lomachenko vs. Gary Russell Jr for the WBO featherweight title this Saturday, June 21

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russell234By Paul Richardson: This Saturday night two time Ukrainian Olympic gold medalist #4 WBO Vasyl Lomachenko (1-1, 1 KO) takes on flashy American #1 WBO Gary Russell Jr (24-0, 14 KO’s) at the StubHub Center in Carson, California. The fight is for the vacant WBO featherweight title which Orlando Salido lost on the scales before controversially outpointing Lomachenko by a 12 round split decision last March at the Alamodome, in San Antonio, Texas in his previous fight.

Gary Russell j has been whining about Lomachenko getting two title shots in only three professional fights, but of course he conveniently ignores the fact that he has not exactly done anything to warrant a shot at the title either having never beaten a significant opponent.

Lomachenko vs. Russell Jr on June 21st at StubHub Center, Carson, California

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By Matt Wood: Two exciting featherweights will square off for the vacant WBO 126-pound title this month on June 21 in American Gary Russell Jr. (24-0) and Ukrainian Vasyl Lomachenko (1-1). If you’re unfamiliar with these fighters, their records might indicate a lopsided fight with Lomachenko having only two pro bouts under his belt, one of which is a loss, while Russel has steadily stacked up wins as a pro since 2009.