In what to my knowledge is the greatest matchup of amateur pedigrees in the history of the sport, a pair of two time Olympic gold medalists will meet on ESPN come December 9th. Pound for pound elites Vasyl Lomachenko and Guillermo Rigondeaux have finalized their bout for Madison Square Garden. 2017 in boxing is just the gift that keeps giving.
Vasyl Lomachenko (9-1, 7 KOs) won gold for Ukraine in 2008 and 2012. He won a world title in only his third pro fight after narrowly failing to do so in his second and since has been considered one of the pound for pound best in boxing. Most recently he downright bullied a game but overmatched Miguel Marriaga in August, retiring the Colombian after seven rounds.
36 year old Guillermo Rigondeaux (17-0, 11 KOs) won his medals earlier in 2000 and 2004 for the legendary Cuban boxing team. He won his first world title in his ninth fight, but he has also had one of the strangest career trajectories there has ever been. After climbing to near the top of the sport, Rigondeaux has mostly been ostracized to its outskirts for being in boring fights. This will be a return to the highest level of sports for the former Cuban amateur star.
Rigondeaux will also be moving up two weight classes to make this fight happen. Top Rank probably figures that his age and size disadvantages plus Lomachenko’s immense skill set will equal a win for their Ukrainian house fighter, but it is really hard to fully count Guillermo Rigondeaux out of a fight. The Cuban himself has been claiming it won’t matter come fight night on social media as well.
No word on any sort of undercard or start time yet, but the fight will happen at the mecca of sport, Madison Square Garden in New York City. It will air on ESPN.
