In what is an absolute all time fantasy match up, all signs are pointing to a December 9th ESPN card headlined by Vasyl Lomachenko and Guillermo Rigondeaux. These are two pound for pound elites, but more than that they are two of the greatest amateur fighters of all time. Though Rigondeaux will likely have to come up in weight and therefore be the underdog, this is an amazing fight if it happens.
885-14. That is the combined win loss records of Ukraine’s Vasyl Lomachenko and Cuba’s Guillermo Rigondeaux between the amateur and professional ranks. They both won Olympic gold twice, both have won world titles in the pro game, and they both remain elite level fighters. Guillermo has been marginalized a little bit because of his boring fights, but absolutely no one with any grasp of the fight game can question his ability.
What someone could question here, however, is size. Vasyl Lomachenko has been campaigning at junior lightweight, 130 lbs. Guillermo Rigondeaux has been campaigning at super bantamweight, 122 lbs, and that is even above where he fought his long, illustrious amateur career. While I have no doubt that Lomachenko could probably drop back down to featherweight, effectively meeting his potential Cuban adversary in the middle, I do not expect that will happen. Lomachenko and Top Rank have all the promotional muscle and leverage here, so why not potentially weaken Rigondeaux by pulling him up to junior lightweight?
Yet, Guillermo Rigondeaux is so talented that I cannot completely count him out two divisions up against the fighter I consider the best in the sport. I really hope this fight happens. It looks like it will.
