"Would Boxing Benefit if More Fighters Fought Like Lomachenko?"
Posted: 12 May 2018, 15:21
https://www.BS.com/boxing-bene ... ko--128081
Vasiliy Lomachenko could make history if he claims his third world title in just 12 fights when he faces Jorge Linares in New York on Saturday night. Lomachenko’s highly decorated amateur career (396-1), two Olympic gold medals and easy transition from amateurs to the pro ranks has put him on course to establish himself as one of the greatest boxers of the modern era in an incredibly short time.
Lomachenko’s pro career started in 2013 and in less than five years time he will have fought 12 times and squared off with some of the best opponents possible across featherweight, junior lightweight and lightweight. The sky is the limit for the 30-year-old, who many anticipate will bump up another weight class in search of competition. In an interview with ESPN, Lomachenko made it clear that he’s not here to pad his record and wants the toughest fights possible.
"The skills of boxing are not forever. The history is forever," he told ESPN’s Dan Rafael. "That's what it means to me to make history. Money, titles, belts -- you're not going to take with you when you die. But the history will stay forever. That's why I decided to go the history route, not the money. You can have the money today but you might not have money tomorrow. But history says forever.
"It's hard to tell what the history will turn into, but what I want is big challenges. I want big names. I want to win, win, win. The life of an athlete, of a boxer, is very short so I don't have time to waste doing tune-up fights. I want the best fights. I want to get the most I can out of my short boxing life.”
Not every fighter can be like Lomachenko but is it possible that it could be more beneficial for the sport if fighters didn’t spend years padding their record and squared off with the best opponents available?
Obviously, some fighters need more professional seasoning than others before jumping into the deep water with more talented opponents. So, not every fighter can chase three world titles in just 12 fights. However, do we really need fighters to take on 20-25 opponents before they get a crack at a world title? It’s the one thing that the UFC does well, almost to a fault, and boxing could benefit from if they adopted this approach to the sport.
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Vasiliy Lomachenko could make history if he claims his third world title in just 12 fights when he faces Jorge Linares in New York on Saturday night. Lomachenko’s highly decorated amateur career (396-1), two Olympic gold medals and easy transition from amateurs to the pro ranks has put him on course to establish himself as one of the greatest boxers of the modern era in an incredibly short time.
Lomachenko’s pro career started in 2013 and in less than five years time he will have fought 12 times and squared off with some of the best opponents possible across featherweight, junior lightweight and lightweight. The sky is the limit for the 30-year-old, who many anticipate will bump up another weight class in search of competition. In an interview with ESPN, Lomachenko made it clear that he’s not here to pad his record and wants the toughest fights possible.
"The skills of boxing are not forever. The history is forever," he told ESPN’s Dan Rafael. "That's what it means to me to make history. Money, titles, belts -- you're not going to take with you when you die. But the history will stay forever. That's why I decided to go the history route, not the money. You can have the money today but you might not have money tomorrow. But history says forever.
"It's hard to tell what the history will turn into, but what I want is big challenges. I want big names. I want to win, win, win. The life of an athlete, of a boxer, is very short so I don't have time to waste doing tune-up fights. I want the best fights. I want to get the most I can out of my short boxing life.”
Not every fighter can be like Lomachenko but is it possible that it could be more beneficial for the sport if fighters didn’t spend years padding their record and squared off with the best opponents available?
Obviously, some fighters need more professional seasoning than others before jumping into the deep water with more talented opponents. So, not every fighter can chase three world titles in just 12 fights. However, do we really need fighters to take on 20-25 opponents before they get a crack at a world title? It’s the one thing that the UFC does well, almost to a fault, and boxing could benefit from if they adopted this approach to the sport.
[Continued in the link]
