LOMACHENKO: ?I WILL FIGHT WALTERS?
By Dong Secuya
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 03 Nov 2014
LAS VEGAS ? Two time Olympic gold medalist and WBO featherweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko of Ukraine (2-1-0, 1KO) said he is able and willing to fight WBA super featherweight champion Nicholas Walters of Jamaica during a short interview with Philboxing at the Gala Night of the 27th WBO Convention held at the Caesars Palace Hotel where Lomachenko received an award from the WBO as a ?Fighter with the Brightest Future.?
However, Lomachenko said he is not thinking about a Walters fight at the moment.
?I don't want to think about it right now because I have an important fight coming,? said Lomachenko who will face WBO featherweight No. 1 contender Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo (52-1-0, 33KO) of Thailand on the undercard of Manny Pacquiao vs Chris Algieri WBO welterweight title megafight at The Venetian's CotaiArena in Macau on Nov. 23 (Nov. 22 in the US).
The undefeated Walters (25-0-0, 21KO) got the attention of the boxing world after he knocked out 2012 Fighter of the Year and former top ten pound-for-pound mainstay Filipino-American Nonito Donaire Jr (33-3-0, 21KO) in Carson, CA two weeks ago.
Lomachenko, 26, who has only three professional fights so far, won boxing golds in the Olympics in 2008 in Beijing and in 2012 in London. He turned professional in October last year by challenging veteran Jose Ramirez (25-3-0, 15KO) of Mexico in Las Vegas for Ramirez's WBO international featherweight title where Lomachenko knocked out Ramirez in the 4th round. He fought for a world tilte in his second professional fight against Orlando Salido of Mexico in San Antonio, Texas for the vacant WBO featherweight title but lost by split decision where Salido also failed to win the title because he came to the fight over the weight limit. Lomachenko next fought erstwhile undefeated Gary Russell Jr (24-1-0, 14KO) of Maryland at the StubHub Center in Carson, CA for the same title last June 21 and won by majority decision.
Bob Arum, who co-promotes Walters and represents Lomachenko, earlier said that if Lomachenko gets past Piriyapinyo, he would make the Walters vs Lomachenko fight. ?I have always thought Lomachenko is a special talent and one of the greatest fighters around so it would be silly if they didn?t fight sometime next year [with Walters],? Arum told ESPN.
Walters vs Lomachenko has the making to become one of the hottest tickets in boxing.
Vasyl Lomachenko (C) shakes hands with WBO's John Duggan after receiving an award from WBO Thursday night at the Caesars Palace Hotel in Las Vegas. Also in photo are from left, Luis Batista Salas, WBO President Paco Valcarcel and ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr. Photo by Dong Secuya.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Dong Secuya.
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