LOMACHENKO VS. RIGONDEAUX - GREAT HISTORICAL AND IMPORTANT FIGHT
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 09 Dec 2017
"It's going to be a great fight and it's going to be a great historical fight that fans will forever look back on," Guillermo Rigondeaux said of his upcoming fight with Vasyl Lomachenko. The Ukrainian will have the size advantage as the Cuban has moved up two weight divisions. "I went up to 130 because it was the only way I could get this fight made," Rigondeaux said. "I would rather it have been at a lower weight, but I want to show the world that I can do it by moving up two weight classes."
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During the weigh-in, Rigondeaux went up on the scale first and weighed-in at 128.4 lbs. for his superfeatherweight debut. Lomachenko, the reigning and defending superfeatherweight champion, hit the scale next and came in at 129 lbs. even. As per fight contract, there's a rehydration clause, meaning that both fighters should not weigh over 138 lbs. for the weigh-in on the day of the fight. Any fighter over the limit would pay a penalty of more than $10,000.
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Lomachenko has compiled an amateur record of 396-1. He was a gold medallist in 2008 in Beijing and 2012 in London. He lost his second professional fight to Orlando Salido but won a world title in his next bout by winning over Gary Russell. He became a two division champion by moving up in weight in just his seventh fight to beat Roman Martinez. Rigondeaux has won more than 450 amateur fights and like Lomachenko, he is a two-time Olympic gold medallist having won gold in 2000 in Sydney and 2004 in Athens.
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"I don't think it's going to be the kind of fight everyone is waiting for," Lomachenko said. "You know his style. I need to chase him. I need to do this and not forget my defense because he will wait, wait, wait and wait." He added that this fight will a historical and interesting bout. "It is a historical bout and most importantly it is an interesting bout for me. A lot of time was spent to make this bout. For a while it was never happening and finally it happened. It is very, very interesting and all of the boxing fans wanted to see the bout and finally we can deliver it."
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On November 28, the WBA announced that Rigondeaux would lose his super bantamweight title if he lost to Lomachenko. WBA president Gilberto Mendoza Jr. further announced that if Rigondeaux defeats Lomachenko, he would have five days to decide whether he is to return to the super bantamweight or remain at super featherweight. Mendoza stated that special permission was granted because the bout was "an important fight for boxing." Upon receiving the news, Rigondeaux expressed his disappointment at Twitter.
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IBF world super flyweight champion Jerwin Ancajas will be promoted by Top Rank. "He is going to become a Top Rank fighter," said Top Rank CEO Bob Arum. "We're going to fight him at least three or four times a year. We call him the Next Manny Pacquiao." Top Rank has been promoting Filipino champions Pacquiao and Nonito Donaire and some fighters from the MP Promotions stable where Ancajas came from.
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Ancajas is recently hugging the boxing headlines with a sixth round stoppage of Jamie Conlan on November 18 in Belfast. Ancajas (28-1-1, 19 KO's) is on the now popular superflyweight class whose fights are currently shown on HBO. But Ancajas will not be on the "Superfly" cards because Top Rank has separated from HBO this year and now have an exclusive television deal with ESPN.
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Earlier, Ancajas was one of the champions mentioned to appear on the next edition of Superfly, which will be televised by HBO on February 24. But with him signing with Top Rank, the Superfly stint is not going to happen. When ask when will be Ancajas' next fight, Arum stated, "It will be in February." Ancajas fought on the Pacquiao-Horn undercard in Brisbane, Australia last July 2, where he knocked out Teiru Kinoshita in seven rounds. It was a part of an ESPN broadcast, and he will be shown again on the same network.
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Many of Ancajas' prospective opponents in the superflyweight division are featured on HBO, like WBO champion Naoya Inoue, Roman Gonzalez, Juan Francisco Estrada, WBC champion Sor Rungvisai, Carlos Cuadras and other big name fighters. However, several of these champions and contenders are not exclusively under contract with HBO, which means they could transfer to the other networks to fight Ancajas over ESPN.
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Vincent Edward "Bo" Jackson is a former baseball and American football player. He is one of the few athletes to be named an All-Star in two major sports, and the only one to do so in both baseball and football. He is widely considered one of the greatest athletes of all time. While at Auburn University, Jackson won the 1985 Heisman Trophy, annually awarded to the outstanding collegiate football player in the United States. Jackson was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996.
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