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For the past 5 years or so, I have anointed one Vasyl Anatoliyovych Lomachenko as the most talented boxer of the past 15 years. Or to put it in other words. I felt that he was the most talented practitioner since the heyday of Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2005, just as I presuppose, that 25 year old Shakur Stevenson is next in line to take that most talented “crown”.
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But a fighter’s prime is a fleeting moment. Lomachenko will be 35 years old come next February 17th, and personally, I believe that his prime registered somewhere around 2017 when he was of the age of 30, and he has been slowly and gradually declining ever since.
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Lomachenko has fought some good opponents, such as Gary Russell Jr., Nicholas Walters, Guillermo Rigondeaux, Jorge Linares, Teófimo López and Masayoshi Nakatani. But it seems clear as a bell to me, that “congregating” around the “lightweight neighbourhood” right now, are some of the most talented fighters that Lomachenko has even seen in the professional ranks.
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Names such as Gervonta Davis, Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia, Shakur Stevenson, Teófimo López, and even lesser talents such as George Kambosos, Isaac Cruz, Joseph Diaz Jr., William Zepeda or Gustavo Daniel Lemos.
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Within the division’s Top 10-15, you’ll find all sort of “contestants” and plenty of solid names. Some of them now established, some in a stage of unhurried but continuous deterioration, and others on the come up (I have always hated that expression…). As far as rising talents, one could easily point towards Isaac Cruz (exciting fighter, but I doubt he’ll ever win a title), William Zepeda, Gustavo Daniel Lemos, Michel Rivera (maybe…) and also to Jamaine Ortiz.
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There are some (and I am decidedly not amongst them) who believe that as far as top young fighters in the lightweight division, there is none more promising than Ortiz himself. From what I can gather, Ortiz is a young (26), reasonably experienced (17 pro bouts), strong fighter, who seems to be in pretty good fighting trim for this one, ambitious and hungry for it. Is he the/a man to upset the apple cart and derail Lomachenko‘s (and Top Rank‘s presumably) grand plans for a showdown with Devin Haney in early 2023?
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You can never tell or crystal-ball it. But if my analysis is correct, and Lomachenko has been on a slippery slope since late 2017, then it stands to reason, that sooner or later, he’ll be too old, and too slow to react (to openings and incoming punches) to deal with even unknown quantities, such as Ortiz ostensibly (to me) seems to bee. If we look at Loma’s recent fights, I thought he looked spectacular vs Nakatani in June of last year, and pretty impressive vs Commey less than a year ago.
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I’m not on pins and needles over the fact that the Ukrainian has not fought in close to 10 months, simply because, in my experience, “ring rust” and inactivity seems to affect (by quite a long ways) young inexperienced fighters more so than it does impinge on experienced veterans.
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Ortiz did recently and soundly defeat Jamel Herring (a good fighter and solid citizen), but that’s as far as he is battle tested or “blooded” at the sport’s top echelon. If it goes to points decision and it is close, I suspect that the judges will “protect” the “marquee name” in order to set up fights vs Haney and Shakur within the coming year.
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Ever since I saw Lomachenko struggle with the soberly experienced 5.9 Luke Campbell, I have looked forward to seeing the Akkermanian in there with other tall and lanky “propositions”. Masayoshi Nakatani was another one with that sort of profile, and Loma nearly obliterated him, not to write that he throttled him in a most impressive fashion, especially considering, that Nakatani had gone the distance with Teófimo López in what looked like a tightly fought (although, not on points) contest where the wheels seemed nearabout to come off Teófimo’s hype train.
.
Ortiz is tall, rangy, young, strong and ambitious. No two ways about it, he does not (clearly) possess a technical and athletic endowment on the level of a Shakur Stevenson, but he should show himself to be a good “litmus test” of where Lomachenko stands in the lightweight landscape in late 2022. Am I expecting an upset? Frankly, no! I think it is more reasonable to look forward to Lomachenko getting the young buck out of there inside of 10 rounds.
For the past 5 years or so, I have anointed one Vasyl Anatoliyovych Lomachenko as the most talented boxer of the past 15 years. Or to put it in other words. I felt that he was the most talented practitioner since the heyday of Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2005, just as I presuppose, that 25 year old Shakur Stevenson is next in line to take that most talented “crown”.
.
But a fighter’s prime is a fleeting moment. Lomachenko will be 35 years old come next February 17th, and personally, I believe that his prime registered somewhere around 2017 when he was of the age of 30, and he has been slowly and gradually declining ever since.
.
Lomachenko has fought some good opponents, such as Gary Russell Jr., Nicholas Walters, Guillermo Rigondeaux, Jorge Linares, Teófimo López and Masayoshi Nakatani. But it seems clear as a bell to me, that “congregating” around the “lightweight neighbourhood” right now, are some of the most talented fighters that Lomachenko has even seen in the professional ranks.
.
Names such as Gervonta Davis, Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia, Shakur Stevenson, Teófimo López, and even lesser talents such as George Kambosos, Isaac Cruz, Joseph Diaz Jr., William Zepeda or Gustavo Daniel Lemos.
.
Within the division’s Top 10-15, you’ll find all sort of “contestants” and plenty of solid names. Some of them now established, some in a stage of unhurried but continuous deterioration, and others on the come up (I have always hated that expression…). As far as rising talents, one could easily point towards Isaac Cruz (exciting fighter, but I doubt he’ll ever win a title), William Zepeda, Gustavo Daniel Lemos, Michel Rivera (maybe…) and also to Jamaine Ortiz.
.
There are some (and I am decidedly not amongst them) who believe that as far as top young fighters in the lightweight division, there is none more promising than Ortiz himself. From what I can gather, Ortiz is a young (26), reasonably experienced (17 pro bouts), strong fighter, who seems to be in pretty good fighting trim for this one, ambitious and hungry for it. Is he the/a man to upset the apple cart and derail Lomachenko‘s (and Top Rank‘s presumably) grand plans for a showdown with Devin Haney in early 2023?
.
You can never tell or crystal-ball it. But if my analysis is correct, and Lomachenko has been on a slippery slope since late 2017, then it stands to reason, that sooner or later, he’ll be too old, and too slow to react (to openings and incoming punches) to deal with even unknown quantities, such as Ortiz ostensibly (to me) seems to bee. If we look at Loma’s recent fights, I thought he looked spectacular vs Nakatani in June of last year, and pretty impressive vs Commey less than a year ago.
.
I’m not on pins and needles over the fact that the Ukrainian has not fought in close to 10 months, simply because, in my experience, “ring rust” and inactivity seems to affect (by quite a long ways) young inexperienced fighters more so than it does impinge on experienced veterans.
.
Ortiz did recently and soundly defeat Jamel Herring (a good fighter and solid citizen), but that’s as far as he is battle tested or “blooded” at the sport’s top echelon. If it goes to points decision and it is close, I suspect that the judges will “protect” the “marquee name” in order to set up fights vs Haney and Shakur within the coming year.
.
Ever since I saw Lomachenko struggle with the soberly experienced 5.9 Luke Campbell, I have looked forward to seeing the Akkermanian in there with other tall and lanky “propositions”. Masayoshi Nakatani was another one with that sort of profile, and Loma nearly obliterated him, not to write that he throttled him in a most impressive fashion, especially considering, that Nakatani had gone the distance with Teófimo López in what looked like a tightly fought (although, not on points) contest where the wheels seemed nearabout to come off Teófimo’s hype train.
.
Ortiz is tall, rangy, young, strong and ambitious. No two ways about it, he does not (clearly) possess a technical and athletic endowment on the level of a Shakur Stevenson, but he should show himself to be a good “litmus test” of where Lomachenko stands in the lightweight landscape in late 2022. Am I expecting an upset? Frankly, no! I think it is more reasonable to look forward to Lomachenko getting the young buck out of there inside of 10 rounds.
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How much longer can Lomachenko remain in this rarefied air? For me, he remains, “pound for pound” the most skilled fighter in Boxing, not the best (although, that is certainly debatable, and fans and some journalists are certainly capricious), but still the most masterly gifted, even in his now inappreciably diminished capacity.
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It’s my guess, that if all goes well (meaning, he does not get “old overnight”), that Lomachenko will beat Devin Haney (if that superbout does indeed come to fruition) in 2023, in one or two engagements. And afterwards, he’ll get beaten by Shakur Stevenson.
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Although, we should keep in mind, that Lomachenko is in my opinion, essentially a “large featherweight” that is vying for titles and competition a full two weight divisions above his natural one. While Haney looks (which can be deceiving and untrustworthy) like a “small Junior-Middleweight” that is able to “melt down” to the 135 lbs scales. Incontrovertibly, Haney is the naturally much larger man, both in (rehydrated)mass and bone structure. It’s no wonder that he works with one of the Sport’s top nutritionist in James Lockwood.
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Enjoy Loma while you can. I’ve never seen footwork (or angles) like that, not even from the late great Pernell Whitaker. He is truly a memorable practitioner of the “sweet science”.
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As far as the Jake Paul vs Anderson Silva “freak show”. I have not watched any of the build-up to it. I could not care any less for either fighter or promotion. I assume that Paul will win by KO in a shamble of an uncompetitive contest that only teenagers, “dudes” and “bros” will care about. For me, it’s a mockery of a great sport, it’s the laughingstock of the fight game, it’s “garbage“, it’s “bovine defectation“! They could not pay me enough to watch it. ZERO interest!
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On the other hand, the “Jojo” Diaz vs William Zepeda fight should help simplify and clarify the rankings in the lower half of the top 10 of the 135 pound division. And the winner should be well and beyond question be properly positioned for a big fight in the coming 12 months.
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Wallack’s Point,
Friday, October 28th, 2022
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Text: Ronald William Miller.
Image: All rights reserved.
.
How much longer can Lomachenko remain in this rarefied air? For me, he remains, “pound for pound” the most skilled fighter in Boxing, not the best (although, that is certainly debatable, and fans and some journalists are certainly capricious), but still the most masterly gifted, even in his now inappreciably diminished capacity.
.
It’s my guess, that if all goes well (meaning, he does not get “old overnight”), that Lomachenko will beat Devin Haney (if that superbout does indeed come to fruition) in 2023, in one or two engagements. And afterwards, he’ll get beaten by Shakur Stevenson.
.
Although, we should keep in mind, that Lomachenko is in my opinion, essentially a “large featherweight” that is vying for titles and competition a full two weight divisions above his natural one. While Haney looks (which can be deceiving and untrustworthy) like a “small Junior-Middleweight” that is able to “melt down” to the 135 lbs scales. Incontrovertibly, Haney is the naturally much larger man, both in (rehydrated)mass and bone structure. It’s no wonder that he works with one of the Sport’s top nutritionist in James Lockwood.
.
Enjoy Loma while you can. I’ve never seen footwork (or angles) like that, not even from the late great Pernell Whitaker. He is truly a memorable practitioner of the “sweet science”.
.
As far as the Jake Paul vs Anderson Silva “freak show”. I have not watched any of the build-up to it. I could not care any less for either fighter or promotion. I assume that Paul will win by KO in a shamble of an uncompetitive contest that only teenagers, “dudes” and “bros” will care about. For me, it’s a mockery of a great sport, it’s the laughingstock of the fight game, it’s “garbage“, it’s “bovine defectation“! They could not pay me enough to watch it. ZERO interest!
.
On the other hand, the “Jojo” Diaz vs William Zepeda fight should help simplify and clarify the rankings in the lower half of the top 10 of the 135 pound division. And the winner should be well and beyond question be properly positioned for a big fight in the coming 12 months.
.
Wallack’s Point,
Friday, October 28th, 2022
.
Text: Ronald William Miller.
Image: All rights reserved.
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