Two-time Olympic gold medalist Vasyl Lomachenko has accomplished more throughout his first eight professional bouts than most fighters have in their entire career. That much is indisputable.
In 2014, Lomachenko (7-1, 5 KOs) tied the record for fewest fights needed to win a world title when he captured a vacant featherweight belt against Gary Russell Jr. in his third pro fight. Two years later, in just his seventh fight, the 29-year-old set a new mark by needing the fewest fights to win a belt in two weight classes when he scored a spectacular knockout of 130-pound titlist Rocky Martinez.
What the native of Ukraine is able to accomplish from here, however, is largely dependent upon others. That’s where things get slippery for the pound-for-pound ranked wizard, who returns Saturday to defend his junior lightweight title against Jason Sosa (HBO, 10 p.m. ET/PT) at the MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland.
“[My goals] depend upon the way everything is going to go,” Lomachenko told CBS Sports, through translator and manager Egis Klimas. “I want everything, but I can say I have a lot of goals and I have a lot of wishes but it doesn’t depend on me. If everything depends on me, I am doing it. Sometimes it just depends on how everything is going to go.”
After turning pro in 2013, it didn’t take Lomachenko long to prove as a professional just how different he is from everyone else.
Lomachenko signed with Top Rank because it was the only promoter which accepted his demand to fight for a world title in his debut, a dream in which Bob Arum ultimately needed two fights to make real. Even after losing his first title bout via contentious decision to Orlando Salido, who came in overweight and fouled relentlessly without penalty, Lomachenko never slowed down on his “dare to be great” mentality.
While many boxers today look to take the easiest and most financially appealing route to stardom, Lomachenko can’t stop finding ways to make it more difficult. But finding a consistent stream of big-name opponents has become exceptionally difficult, as evidenced by Lomachenko’s largely forgettable 2015 campaign.
“I wanted to unify my titles at [featherweight] but I couldn’t,” he said. “I moved to 130 and I wanted to fight the best champions but it’s not working. I have many goals but I don’t know if they are going to come true.”
The reason for the collective reluctance of others is not without merit. Lomachenko is an artist who constantly lands the most dangerous punches his opponents can face: the kind they don’t see coming. He does so with an incredible mix of speed, footwork and precise punching from awkward angles, the kind that can only be mastered through years of dedication to his craft.
To that end, Lomachenko’s 396-1 amateur record speaks for itself. His only loss came at the 2007 World Championships in Chicago against Russia’s Albert Selimov, which he later avenged twice. Between 2008 and 2012, Lomachenko twice won gold medals at the World Championships and two more at the Olympics (at featherweight in Beijing and at lightweight in London).
In order to stay so dynamically different, Lomachenko, who is trained by his father Anatoly, has implemented a number of different training methods, including lots of swimming, and anything that improves his coordination and reaction time.
“I often juggle three balls and I have a special ball, which you can call a fight ball right now, which you throw on the floor and it can go in completely different directions and I need to catch it,” Lomachenko said. “And since my father started training me, he always explained to me how important footwork is and how strong your legs have to be. Footwork is the most important thing.”
The best example of Lomachenko’s other worldly ability to confuse his opponents by staying one step ahead came last November when he forced hard-hitting Nicholas Walters to quit on his stool after seven rounds. Walters, a former featherweight titlist, was so confused by Lomachenko, he appeared to almost take joy in the relief of giving up, knowing he was so demonstratively outgunned.
Lomachenko has been just as much of a nightmare statistically for his opponents.
According to records kept by CompuBox, Lomachenko currently has the best plus/minus rating in the sport, which calculates the percentage of punches landed against opponent’s connect rate. His rating of +20.9 is more than four points higher than second place (Mikey Garcia) and represents the highest number since Floyd Mayweather in 2015 (+24.5).
Lomachenko is first among active fighters in opponent connect percentage at 16.1, which is 14 percent lower than the CompuBox average. He’s also second to both Adonis Stevenson in power connect percentage and Guillermo Rigondeaux in opponent’s power connect. His 7.8 jabs landed per round is fifth best in boxing.
The question now becomes whether Lomachenko can consistently get the clientele of opponents who can help elevate him to all-time great status. Lightweight and junior lightweight haven’t been all that deep in recent years. Meanwhile, boxing’s money division remains welterweight, and the divisions right around it, including 140 pounds.
Despite Arum’s dream of matching Lomachenko against Manny Pacquiao one day, it may not be one that is realistic.
“Right now, what I am thinking about is only coming to 135 pounds,” Lomachenko said. “Can I go more? It depends how I will do at 135.”
To help his cause in getting big fights from a marketing standpoint, he has worked hard of late to learn English and is slowly doing more interviews. But asked what is most important to him, considering his inability to fight the big names and champions he desires; between money, world titles and the possibility of crossover stardom, Lomachenko chose none of the above.
“The biggest motivation is I want to become the best fight of all time,” he said.
Enough said.
