mcrow42 wrote: ↑21 Oct 2020, 14:07They simply stated he was injured prior to the fight and had surgery.
If it was an excuse it would have been, "well, i wasn't 100% but if i were I would have won".
No such thing was said or hinted at, they just announced he had surgery and explained it happened prior to the fight.
What do the following fighters have in common with Vasyl Lomachenko: Mike Tyson, Manny Pacquiao, David Haye, Deontay Wilder, David Lemieux and Kell Brook?
These guys or their handlers all cited injuries immediately after their losses. It’s irrelevant however they phrased their explanations, they were using excuses.
That's not to say their justifications were or weren't valid, but that's precisely what happened - excuses were used.
And if you've been following the sport of boxing long enough, you'll realise it's rare for fighters to compete inside the ring without carrying some sort of niggle or injury.
However, it's not uncommon to only be informed about a fighter's injury until immediately after they've suffered a defeat.
To paraphrase Klimas’ comments to ESPN: "
We didn't want to look like we were looking for excuses or something, but... Lomachenko lost a week of training and sparring... he was feeling a sharp pain in his right shoulder... and we wanted him out of the fight... Lomachenko was suffering from the same injury from the second round of his decision loss to Teofimo Lopez..."
Read the interview transcript. I'm not misrepresenting his words. That's what he said.
Also, didn't Lomachenko claim he was 100% healthy
immediately before the Lopez fight?
“I never showed 100% my skill because always there was a little problem,” said Lomachenko. “My fight with [Jorge] Linares, I had a problem with my shoulder. If you remember [Jose] Pedraza, it was my first fight after [shoulder] surgery.
“And [Anthony] Crolla, I broke my hand, and I finished this fight. Some guys finish and say ‘no mas.’ Now I’m healthy and ready for this fight [with Teofimo], and I want to win. It will be the best fight in my pro career.
“I will put all my skill on the table, and I think it will be a very great fight,” said Lomachenko.
I also have a video of Lomachenko confirming the above.
It doesn’t matter how you window dress it, Lomachenko’s manager shared information that he knew for certain would be interpreted as an excuse, because it was.
And it doesn't matter if the "excuse" was valid or not. Because an "excuse" is still an "excuse".
Anyway, why are you ignoring Lomachenko's and Klimas' words? Do you feel their claims irrelevant to our discussion? I keep quoting them, but you won't discuss them.