It's officially fight week. Vasiliy Lomachenko (14-1, 10 KOs) returns to the ring on Saturday in a grudge match with undefeated IBF lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez Jr. (15-0, 12 KOs) to potentially unify the division inside the "bubble" at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Lomachenko and Lopez have exchanged verbal barbs ever since the fight, which has the potential to be the best of a coronavirus-hit 2020, was announced, and the American has been calling out the Ukrainian for the better part of two years before that.
Olympic gold medalist Lomachenko hasn't fought since scoring a unanimous decision over Britain's Luke Campbell in August 2019, but as the last wave of media obligations kicked off on Monday, the 32-year-old denied suggestions that there could be ring rust.
“I don't think so. I feel great. I can’t wait for Saturday night,” Vasyl Lomachenko told FightNews. “I have a goal, I have a dream and he holds the IBF title. I need this belt. Saturday I will take his belt.
“We will see what he has, we always come prepared. He has a good punch, speed, and good IQ. He’s young and hungry. We will see."
Of course, the topic of Lopez's long-running trash talk came up.
“I heard this before from a lot of boxers that they will beat me or knock me out," continued Lomachenko. "In the ring they forget about their words and promises.
"For me, it’s just trash talk. We will see what happens in the ring.
“When I became a professional fighter. All I wanted to do is fight the best fighters.
“I can’t compare this fight to any fight I’ve had. He is a tough fighter. It won’t be an easy fight. We will see.
“Right now I have a top fighter in front of me. I want to improve and do this for my legacy."