This Saturday, the Ukranian amateur star will face undefeated Gary Russel Jr for the vacant WBO Featherweight Championship, on Robert 'The Ghost' Guerrero's undercard in Carson, California.
We've given this one a lot of discussion already, and unfortunately our resident expert on Lomachenko no longer around to give his much valued input; but with just a few days to go till the first bell rings, it's time for final predictions. How do you think this one will go?
Last edited by thegreyman; 06-16-2014 at 06:06 AM.
Originally Posted by thegreyman
I have a frame of reference for VLO.... Although he's only been a pro for a short while I can more easily quantify and calculate where I think he will compare with the rest of the division based on his performance against Salido.
On the other hand I have no frame of reference. No trial of adversity against a world class opponent with which I can compare Russell.
Trying to evaluate Russell is like taking target practice at the shooting gallery in the dark.
He looks amazing on film but so does every other new prospect who hasn't been tested.
He's been severely hurt early in his career but survived
I'm going to make an educated guess that VLO could handle Russell's best shot better than Russell could handle VLO's best shot.
The normally quiet and sedate Russell has felt emboldened to take a few verbal shots at VLO by calling him a stepping stone.
Mayweather used to do that but he was already destroying future hall of famers by the time he was 21 years of age and only 17 fights into his pro career...his trash talk was delivered like an oracle of prophetic utterance.
Russell is nowhere close to having enough credibility on his record to be that disrespectful.
I hope Russell has enough talent to make this an interesting and competitive fight and I can barely contain my anticipation for watching two young prime lions go fang to fang in a championship bout.
But at this point in their careers VLO has proven more to the boxing world than Russell ... Russell still has a lot to prove.
After this fight there will be no more secrets.
However at this time I have to favor VLO for the win.
Prove me wrong Russell!
I re-watched Lomachenko-Salido. Here are a couple points to take away from that fight.
Salido was much bigger than Lomachenko. I mean much bigger. Salido was a full fledged Welterweight in the ring. He also didn't kill himself to make weight for the fight. Though I don't think Lomachenko killed himself to make weight, he certainly made more sacrifices to his body than Salido. Salido used that weight advantage to full effect in both his punching power and being able to absorb punches.
Lomachenko paced himself considerably. Clearly, the 12 round distance was on his mind.
For 10 rounds, Lomachenko wouldn't throw unless Salido was in perfect position to be hit. The last 2 rounds of the fight though, Lomachenko let his hands go and had the most success.
Salido's most effective punches against Lomachenko were the right hand down the pipe and left hook to the body that often strayed low.
Here are some things to keep in mind for the Russell fight based off the Salido fight for Lomachenko.
Lomamchenko will be in their with a man his own size.
Lomachenko knows he can go a hard 12. He was getting racked with body shots by Salido, many of them low, and yet still had his best two rounds at the end and hurt Salido (a much bigger man) in both those rounds.
Russell is a southpaw like Lomachenko. That straight right that Salido landed won't be as easy for Russell to throw. Either will the left hook, Russell throws more of a straight left from that southpaw stance.
Lomachenko learned a lot from the Salido fight. I would say he has far more pro experience based off that fight alone than Russell does in his 24 pro fights.
Lomachenko will throw more against Russell and not just when Russell is well set up either. He use a more concerted body attack (he did hurt Salido to the body late) and the work rate will be much busier than the Salido fight particularly early as he won't be pacing himself as much.
And here is what I think about the Russell fight...
Russell is athletically gifted. He may have the fastest hands in the sport. Lomachenko though is no slouch in these categories. Maybe not on par with Russell but not far behind either.
Russell has scored some spectacular knockouts but he is not a power puncher in my opinion. Several opponents he has faced he has hit clean time and time again and they did not budge. I think Russell is also concerned about hurting his hands and mentally goes into fights worried about that.
Lomachenko will use the experience from the Salido fight and push the action early. He is going to make Russell ask questions about himself.
Russell won't be able to exploit Lomachenko's weaknesses being a southpaw as Salido was able to from the orthodox stance.
The much better prepared fighter mentally with be Lomachenko. He will be more confident having experienced more ring challenges than Russell.
To me, everything is pointed to a Lomachenko win.
Michael Woods & I will discuss this one on my show tonight. Call in TOLL FREE. 1-866-522-2846.
-Randy G.
Nice analysis Oubob, enjoyed the read.
Super breakdown, Bobcat. I'll have to steal it and give you credit on my show.
-Randy G.
Thanks Grey and Commish, this is a fight that I personally can't wait to see and I think a lot of die hards are eagerly anticipating as well.
Ev'ybodee and dey momma are so kind to G-Russ Junebug. He is going to need a big hug. Just like back at the 08 O-Games in China, he has that tricky look of fake confidence on his deceptive mug.
I ain't buying JACK about he being a boksing MACK!
I know what time it is, and I'm not giving him any slack. It doesn't matter that a lot of peeps think that I'm wrong for my blistering attack. Dude is not a boksing brick house, he is a darn scheming flophouse shack.
I ain't hatin' him! He has gotten on his D.C. hustle. Now he is gettin' in a real tustle.
He went Chicken Little in the 08 O-Games. He will go Chicken BIG against V-Lo and go up in flames. Holla!
Sometimes in boxing a fighter can grow much more from a loss than they do in any win they may have had previous. This could be one of these fights where Russell comes up short but becomes a better overall fighter afterward.
A young Bernard Hopkins met a young Roy Jones Jr. in 1993. Hopkins lost decisively that night. He went on from that to become a legend himself despite the set back in his first major fight and major step up in competition.
For young fighters, losses aren't always bad. Sometimes they can be blessings in disguise. Could this be the case for Russell if he loses to Lomachenko on Saturday (as long as of course it is not by devastating KO)?
Very true Obob.
In defeat, we analyse everything we did wrong and right, we're likely to learn from the mistakes of a performance that didn't bring us the results we were after.
There can be a tendency to forget lessons leaned in victory. The victory itself can cloud your memory of the event, causing you to forget the inevitable flaws in your performance, and instead look at it as rosy perfection because of the 'W' that followed.
To the truly wise, it is experience that makes you learn, regardless of victory or defeat. Every experience is a learning opportunity. Let's hop Vasyl's be learning fast.
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