Boxing: Vasyl Lomachenko Fears No One in Pursuit of ‘Only Meaningful Fights’

Vasyl Lomachenko has lived and fought by the edict that he competes in only meaningful fights. The 28-year old featherweight southpaw has just six professional bouts, and you can easily say each one had meaning. In his only his third pro fight, the two-time Olympic gold medalist handed Gary Russell Jr. his first loss for the WBO world featherweight title.

Now, Lomachenko (5-1, 3 KOs) will once again try to defy logic -- he will attempt to become a two-division champion in just his seventh appearance -- when he takes on WBO junior lightweight champ Roman “Rocky” Martinez (29-2-3, 17 KOs) this Saturday on HBO at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. It’s nothing new for Lomachenko, a Russian-speaking Ukrainian from the multi-ethnic port city of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi in southern Ukraine. He was led into boxing by his father, Anatoly, at a very young age when the rudiments of his craft were formed.

Considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters today, Lomachenko has the soundest amateur base in the sport. There is nothing he hasn’t seen, which is what led to his most impressive victory to date -- a 12-round majority decision over Russell Jr. in June 2014. By winning a world title in just his third fight, the skillful Ukrainian star tied a 39-year-old record for fewest fights to win a world championship. The mark was set by Thailand’s Saensak Muangsurin, who captured the WBC world super lightweight title in 1975, also in his third pro fight.

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What makes Lomachenko special was on display against the previously unbeaten Russell. He blocked most of his opponent’s offerings while dealing a good deal of punishment on Russell, who then was in his fifth year as a pro and had 25 fights under his belt. Though punch stats bore out Lomachenko’s dominance, as did every eye watching, one judge still somehow saw it as a draw. Even the disappointed Russell admitted afterward he had nothing to counter Lomachenko’s onslaught.

“I thought it was a fair decision,” Russell said. “I didn’t stick to my game plan like I should have.”

“I’ve been around the best and I’ve seen the best, and I look at Lomachenko as one of the greatest fighters of our time,” hall-of-fame promoter Bob Arum said. “I really can’t say enough about how highly I think of him. He is incredibly talented.”

So talented that other fighters seem afraid of Lomachenko. WBA featherweight champ Nicholas Walters wanted no part of Lomachenko, even after the Ukrainian offered to pay Walters $300,000 out of his purse if he lost. Walters refused. So Lomachenko and his manager, Egis Klimas, opted to move up to fight Martinez, 33, a three-time belt holder. Again, he wants only meaningful fights.

This one comes with an added incentive. Lomachenko, an Olympic gold winner in 2008 and 2012 -- he was named the Val Barker Trophy winner as the Beijing Games’ best fighter -- has only lost twice in his career. His sparkling insane 396-1 amateur record placed him on the fast track as a professional. In his second fight, he took on then-WBO featherweight titlist Orlando Salido and lost a split decision in March 2014. Salido lost the title to Martinez less than a year later. The two men fought to a draw in their Sept. 12, 2015 rematch on the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Andre Berto undercard. To that end, Lomachenko may never get the chance to avenge his only pro setback. He can only beat the man who beat Salido.

“I am at a level only to fight the best fighters in the world,” Lomachenko said. “No one really wanted to fight me at 126 [pounds], so we made a decision to go to 130 and fight Rocky Martinez. A lot of fighters say they want to fight the best in the world. The difference is that I mean it. I will fight only the best.”

Joseph Santoliquito is the president of the Boxing Writer's Association of America and a frequent contributor to Sherdog.com's mixed martial arts and boxing coverage. His archive can be found here.