Vasiliy Lomachenko Is The Fucking MAN

So…

“All champions have a big ego. I think I am the best pound-for-pound in the world. Terence Crawford thinks he is. Canelo Alvarez thinks he is. For me Crawford is second, Alvarez third. Although none of us accept losing.” 

—The Matrix, in The Daily Mail on Tuesday

👽👽👽

Transformative powers would seem to strengthen his position, for like The Wachowski Sister's sci-fi cult classic..

..we are about to witness a 4th installment of the fight game's Neo. 

He made us go, ‘Whoa', back in an October 2013 debut that saw him Agent Smith a 25-3 solid pro in Jose Ramirez with an insouciant arrogance. As if to say to Top Rank boss Bob Arum, “Oh well, I told you I wanted Mikey Garcia.”

Fights a Mexican ring version of a Bain in bout #2, which sees grizzled mofo Orlando Salido take a featherweight contest below the border to welterweight over 12 foul-filled rounds to produce a glitch on his record. Unable to download a rematch, he unveils “The One” against the brilliance of Gary Russell Jr to capture the WBO featherweight title over 12 rounds of chess in bout #3, a sweet science salvo for the ages. In bout #4, he invades China and forces a still vintage Manny Pacquiao set to face Chris Algieri, to witness special effects while dissecting a 51-1 Suriya Tatakhun. While breaking every aspect of a fighter who'd never been hurt he breaks his hand, otherwise, there is no final bell there. 

The spectacular bombing of Roman Martinez to take the WBO super featherweight title. Psychologically taking the Axe away from Nicholas Walters and chopping down his pride. Then, upgrading beyond ho-hum sequels in green and black algorithms to humiliate Jason Sosa. This, before mercilessly solving a gold standard equation between himself, the greatest amateur fighter of all-time (396-1), opposite legendary Cuban all-time great Guillermo Rigondeaux, while donning the blue and yellow colors of Ukraine in their own professional Olympics at Madison Square Garden in December 2017. Months later, inside of the world's most famous arena again, he climbs off the canvas to literally bury the greatness of Jorge Linares with a body shot in the 10th round to claim WBA lightweight supremacy, ripping his shoulder in the process.

Vasily Lomachenko (13-1, 10KOs) is the fucking man.

I decided this was the case after a December 2018 roundly criticized defense against a determined former world champion Jose “Sniper” Pedraza.

Though it turned into his own Floyd Mayweather Vs Jose Luis Castillo for much of that contest, imagine “Pretty Boy Floyd” doing to Castillo in the 11th round what Loma did to Pedraza in one of the greatest rounds in boxing history. Do that, while understanding he's beyond his best weight of 130 lbs and coming off of shoulder surgery to add the WBO lightweight title to his collection. There was no need for a rematch.

He knew a game Anthony Crolla had been struck with a cinder block to the head and nearly died in an accident before working his way back to top contender status prior to facing him in April. The problem for Crolla, is that he was facing another upgrade in Loma… And an angry one at that. You heard him say earlier that ‘none of us accept losing', which is how his mind interpreted an amazing (but close) fight with Pedraza. So he goes out and cinder blocks the other side of Crolla's head, stapling him to the canvas in ruthless fashion at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. This was the best fighter in the world presenting a dissertation in killer instinct.

Saturday night, at the O2 Arena in the United Kingdom on ESPN+ for Top Rank, the Bilhorod-Dnisstrovskyi native and pound-for-pound superstar will face a bigger and formidable former Olympic iteration of himself in England's Luke Campbell (20-2, 16KOs) for the WBC lightweight championship vacated by Mikey Garcia.

Lomachenko is probably or maybe the best boxer pound for pound in the sport, right now.

According to these trained eyes, this could turn out to be the toughest fight of his illustrious career.

But that's just it.

When you're the man you just don't give a fuck.