By: Sean Crose
We were told he might well be the greatest fighter ever, that he possessed such talent, that he engaged in such cutting-edge training, that he had such an extraordinary amateur pedigree that resistance was essentially futile. Make no mistake about it, Vasyl Lomachenko was sold as a star before he even stepped foot in a professional prize ring. And while it’s true the man quickly became a star, the assertion that he could indeed be the greatest ever seems more than a bit hyperbolic these days. The man’s about to come back, however, possibly against Gervonta Davis (we’ll have to see whether or not that comes to fruition) so maybe at the age of 38 the one-time wunderkind will live up to those sky-high expectations after all. One never really knows.
Although he may, as of yet, not lived up to the idiotically unfair levels of expectations placed before him there’s no doubt the man called Loma has had an absolutely stellar career for himself. He won a world title in just his third professional fight. He then went on to win thirteen in a row against the likes of Nicholas Walters, Guillermo Rigondeaux and Jorge Linares, each one a world class fighter.
Loma’s big bump in the road was named Teofimo Lopez, a big, hard hitting and exceedingly confident New Yorker who ended up getting the best of Loma in a highly competitive 12 rounder back in the fall of 2020. Loma was a lightweight titlist walking into the ring that night. He had gone up from featherweight to 135 and may well have tried to cross a bridge too far when he agreed to square off against the hungry Lopez. Loma went on to defeat his next three opponents but came up against another bump in the road when he battled Devin Haney in the spring of 2023.
The battle was close -extremely close – though when all was said and done it was Haney who got the decision win. He fought Georges Kambosos the following spring – then essentially vanished from the prize ring. By the fall of last year the man decided it was time to call it a career. Clearly finding that retirement wasn’t for him, he decided to announce his return to the fight game earlier this week. Aside from Davis, there’s Shakur Stevenson out there who he can conceivably face. A rematch with Haney could prove to be another real possibility.
One thing is almost certain – Loma won’t be an easy out for anyone. He may have been overhyped but he was one hell of a boxer back then. And chances are the man is still an excellent fighter today. He may have lost three fights throughout his career, but those were close fights against excellent opponents. Potential opponents overlook Loma at their peril. The fact that the man hasn’t suffered much damage in the ring should serve as a warning to possible ring foils as well. He may not be a kid anymore, but he’s not exactly battle scared, either.
No matter who he faces next – he’s made it clear he wants it to be a top opponent – it will be interesting to see Loma back in the ring again. The guy’s impressive when he plies his trade, after all. Just watching one or two of the guy’s fights on YouTube allows the viewer to see a master at work. He’s all speed, angles and accuracy. Although he likely won’t be fighting under lightweight where he has performed best, Loma is still nothing if not a challenging foe. Once he gets going, he’s hard to stop. At least that used to be the case. Whether it will be again remains to be seen.
