Tag Archives: Monte “Two Gunz” Barrett
Vasiliy Lomachenko Opens Up On Teofimo Lopez Loss: “It’s About Being Bribed, There Was Nothing About Honest Judging”
By: Hans Themistode
After having time to dissect his unanimous decision loss at the hands of Teofimo Lopez roughly two months ago, former three-division world titlist Vasiliy Lomachenko is screaming robbery.
“If we counted strictly by the book, the scorecards would be different,” said Lomachenko on his social media page.
Lomachenko, 32, walked into his undisputed lightweight contest against Lopez (16-0, 12 KOs) as a decided favorite. From the moment the bell rang, the 23-year-old Lopez came straight ahead. Lomachenko though, took more of a defensive stance during the opening frame. What was thought to be a feel out round for the Ukrainian, turned into a passive effort during the first half of their contest.
While Lomachenko (14-2, 10 KOs) remained patient early on, connecting on 25 of his 58 total punches, Lopez continued to bank rounds as he scored on 53 of his 239 first-half shots. Falling behind on the judge’s scorecards is something that Lomachenko agrees with but after watching the tape closely, he believes he did more than enough in the second half.
“I took one round for the first half of the fight and five rounds for the second one, namely rounds 7-11. We’ve got 6-6 which is a draw. If it’s a draw we use the unspoken rule of boxing, we look for rounds 10-12. I won two of them. It’s two to one.”
The numbers for Lomachenko did in fact spike up during the second half as he tagged Lopez with 116 shots while throwing 263. With that being said, the change in his aggression still fell short when compared to his younger opponent. Lopez eked by Lomachenko in terms of punches landed with 130 and he nearly doubled him up in the second half with 420 total punches thrown.
Lopez seemed to punctuate his performance in the final round as he landed 50 total shots on Lomachenko, a career-high for punches landed on the Ukrainian native.
Still, most pundits are in agreement that Lomachenko did in fact win the second half of their contest. However, the hole he dug during the first half proved to be too much as Lopez went on to become the youngest undisputed world champion in boxing history.
Bad judging is something that Lomachenko can reluctantly live with. Nevertheless, the former two time Olympic gold medalist doesn’t believe the judges accidentally handed in bad scorecards. In this case, Lomachenko assumes that there could have been money exchanged underneath the table.
“They knew that the possibility of a knockout from my side was around 20%. What does it say? It’s about being bribed. There was nothing about honest judging.”
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Vasiliy Lomachenko On Teofimo Lopez: “I Want To Really Beat Him Badly, They Act Like They’re A Big Superstar, But They’re Not”
By: Hans Themistode
He’s been called a bitch, a piece of shit and every other derogatory word in the English dictionary. Yet, throughout every single curse word that has been thrown his way, unified lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko has managed to remain calm.
His opponent in IBF belt holder Teofimo Lopez has made his disdain for the Ukrainian as clear as possible. In a recent interview with ESPN, the Brooklyn native was asked how he feels about his dance partner this upcoming weekend. Words at this point were of no use to Lopez, so instead, the pugnacious knockout artist spat on the floor as a description for his opponent.
For Lomachenko, trash talking has never been his style. Opponents have attempted to draw out a reaction from the 32 year old, only to be greeted by a smiling face with his hands behind his back.
Lomachenko has always viewed his matchup with Lopez as just another business venture and checkmark on his road to becoming undisputed. With that being said, the multiple division champion wants to do some serious damage to his opponent.
“I want to beat him very badly, very, very badly,” said Lomachenko to The Ring magazine. “I want to really beat him badly. (Lopez’s father) thinks (Lopez is) a big superstar like Tyson Fury. That’s why they do the trash talk. They act like they’re a big superstar, but they’re not.”
The sport of boxing has seen opponents dish out a beating of a lifetime to one another and not feel any ill-will afterward. The build up of animosity brings in a proliferation of viewers and fattens the wallets of everyone involved.
But when it comes to Lomachenko’s true feelings towards his opponent, absolutely nothing is manufactured.
“What do you think? Of course I don’t like them. They’ve been talking bad things about me which is not real things, not reality. So, of course, I’m going to not like them because they’re talking too much about me.”
Although Lomachenko hasn’t appeared to be rattled, he has been visibly irritated by the nonstop smack talk that is taking place from both his opponent and his father. Regardless of that, promoter Bob Arum has been up close and personal during the Ukrainian products closed door training camp and came away believing he’s as locked in as ever.
“Nobody has trash talked him before,” said Arum. “You look at all the other opponents, they were guys who were confident, not confident, guys who were respectful and this is the first opponent that he’s had who has done the trash talking, so he wouldn’t be normal if he didn’t react. But let me tell you something – I visited him (recently in camp). I spent quite some time with him, watched him train. I mean he is dedicated. He is serious. I mean, he is a machine. But, again, I would have said that about all of his fights. Lopez has been trash talking, so this is something that hasn’t been done to Lomachenko, so obviously, there’s a reaction. He’s just responding to the trash talk.”
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David “Tuamanator” Tua Retires … For Now
By Johnny Walker
Heavyweight veteran David “Tuamanator” Tua of New Zealand, last seen in a boxing ring in one of the top heavyweight fights of 2011–a tough unanimous decision loss to American Monte “Two Gunz” Barrett–has decided to step away from the squared circle, perhaps for good.
“I’m retired. But I’m not officially retired,” the Tuaman, 39, told the New Zealand publication Herald on Sunday last week.
Barrett, who survived a 12th round knockdown in which Tua broke his jaw, had hoped to make it trilogy in 2012 with the New Zealand boxing legend: they fought to a controversial draw in Atlantic City in 2010.
But extenuating circumstances seem to have discouraged Tua.
Barrett was accused of failing a drugs test after their second fight, and an incensed Tuamanator demanded that the result of the bout be overturned. However, due to questions about the time it took for the testing results to be made public, as well as about other procedural anomalies, Barrett, who claims innocence in the matter, still has the WBO Oriental and Asia Pacific heavyweight titles he took from Tua in his possession.
Barrett will now instead take on another New Zealand native, Shane Cameron, a previous Tua victim.
Adding to Tua’s woes is a recent split with his wife Robina. The couple has two teenage sons.
“I’m not with my boys every day but I know that bond and I feel that connection,” Tua says. “Blood is thicker than water. I will always be with them.”
David Tua has also long battled financial problems. The Tuamanator earned approximately $12 million from his 2000 loss to heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis, but lost it all via problematic investments and a protracted legal battle with two ex-managers. At one point, Tua and his family were homeless and had to move in with his manager, Inga Tuigamala.
During this period of turmoil, Tua’s legal bills eventually ballooned to $4.2 million, and to add to his woes, he was also hit by a $2.2 million tax bill from the New Zealand government.
As for now, Tua says his various problems are of such a magnitude that he needs time away from boxing.
“I’d rather sort out these important matters out of the ring than in the ring,” he says.
And the boxer remains grimly philosophical about his long run of bad luck.
“Every day I wake up and I’m above the dirt is a day in paradise,” Tua tells the Herald on Sunday.
