Lomachenko vs Pacquiao has a nice ring to it doesn’t it? The main bone of contention for getting a fight between the two over the line would likely come down to the weight. One would imagine.
Lomachenko vs Pacquiao is certainly a fight I’d love to see.
As far as the motivation by other guy not wanting to have the fight with one another as an obstacle to making it happen, you can virtually cross that reason out now.
As the boxing calendar draws to a close for 2016.
Add to this, they both share the same promoter Bob Arum which would make the fight in theory at least, logistically easy to make one would suspect.
(Video highlights of Lomachenko’s boxing clinic over Nicholas Walters)
Top Rank’s Arum has been positive on talks of a potential fight between the two on different occasions this year and has refused to rule it out.
Manny Pacquiao showed in his win over Jessie Vargas to capture the WBO welterweight world title that he is far from done in the sport.
When you consider the fact he won the fight comfortably against a much younger adversary while essentially balancing his training around a full-time political job as a Senator in the Philippines, it’s reasonable to assume he’s got plenty left in the tank.
With all due respect to Jessie Vargas, WBO super-featherweright champion Vasyl Lomachenko is a far different prospect. Definitely from a technical boxing perspective.
Like Pacquiao, he moves incredibly well in the ring. Possibly better than Pacquiao in fact.
Many have pointed to Pacquiao being too big and too strong for Lomachenko but I’m not totally sold on that.
Remember, Pacquiao started out as a flyweight originally in his professional career and standing at 5’5 tall (and a half inch) he’d actually be a half inch shorter than Lomachenko (5’6).
Pacquiao would enjoy an inch and a half of reach advantage. But that’s nothing major.
The question would be for me, could Pacquiao boil down to around the lightweight limit again if the two were to meet half way in a catchweight for example?
I suspect he could, but it isn’t likely he’d want to – being the bigger name of the two and the more well known star in the fight.
Could a catchweight somewhere between lightweight and super-lightweight perhaps be conceived for a possible matchup?
I don’t see what either guy would have to lose in all honesty.
They have both suffered defeats in their professional career before up to this point. So it’s not like they need to protect an unbeaten record or are young prospects in the building stage of their careers.
Despite Pacquiao having a lot more experience as a professional Lomachenko has showed quickly since turning pro that he has closed this experience gap rapidly.
What a fight Lomachenko vs Pacquiao would be too. Explosive, relentless skillsets between two of the great boxers of the modern era.
Speaking after the fight to a group of media members at ringside Lomachenko for his part said the Pacquiao fight is something he’s be open to in 2017:
“I very much respect Manny Pacquiao. I like Manny Pacquiao. I would be proud if somebody gave me that opportunity.”