Vasiliy Lomachenko returns to the ring for the first time since his loss to Teofimo Lopez on June 26th. The three-weight world champion takes on Japan’s Masayoshi Nakatani in Las Vegas.
Onlookers will be eager to see how Lomachenko responds to the Lopez setback and whether the talented Ukranian has what it takes to avenge the loss in a rematch down the line.
Back in October, Lopez produced one of the performances of 2021 as he demonstrated huge maturity and discipline to outbox and outfight Lomachenko over 12 rounds to become the world’s premier lightweight.
Lomachenko, a ringside guest at Top Rank’s Josh Taylor vs. Jose Ramirez unification battle on Saturday night, has not been prepared to accept the defeat to Lopez, and when asked about it by ESPN’s Mark Kriegel, Lomachenko offered his verdict.
“My opinion now after watching (the fight) a lot of times, my opinion it was a draw,” said Lomachenko inside Vegas’ Virgin Hotel, the same venue that will host his fight against Nakatani next month.
With Lomachenko’s immediate focus now centred on Nakatani, the highly-decorated amateur can expect a tough battle once the first bell goes. Nakatani provided Lopez with a stern test back in 2019 and his most recent fight saw him stop Felix Verdejo. It’s a fight that Lomachenko likes.
“It’s the best choice for me. I want to compare myself with this guy (Lopez). He was close with (Lopez) in their fight. He’s a great opponent for me.”