It will be all about the big men of the sport tonight, the heavyweights, with the massive and historic four-belt unification clash between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk going down in Saudi Arabia. But there has been a whole lot going on in the sport at the other weights just recently, what with the lower weight operators being especially impressive as of late – see little giants like Naoya Inoue and a number of his countrymen dazzling us in world title fights.
And a certain Vasiliy Lomachenko, a man who was referring to himself as “old” and close to retirement ahead of his recent, hugely impressive stoppage win over George Kambosos Jr, showed us all again how special he is. How special? At age 36, Loma has retained his position at the top of the Ring Magazine 135 pound rankings, this courtesy of his late stoppage win over the tough, never previously stopped Kambosos.
Lomachenko is currently ranked above young lions Gervonta Davis and Shakur Stevenson (both of whom the skilled Ukrainian southpaw could fight, either this year or next) in the Ring lightweight rankings. Of course, some fans may disagree with this, perhaps feeling Tank is the top dog at 135. But Loma’s brilliance cannot be denied and he sure showed us in the Kambosos fight that he has a lot left in his own tank.
The new Ring Magazine Top 10 at lightweight reads as follows:
Champ – Vacant
1: Vasiliy Lomachenko
2: Gervonta Davis
3: William Zepeda
4: Shakur Stevenson
5: Frank Martin
6: Raymond Muratalla
7: Keyshawn Davis
8: Denys Berinchyk
9: Zaur Abdullaev
10: Mark Chamberlain
Fans will notice that former unified lightweight champ Kambosos Jr has now been dropped from the Ring lightweight rankings. For Lomachenko, massive fights loom. The age of 36 is advanced for the lower weight divisions, especially for a fighter who heavily relies on reflexes and speed the way Loma does. But again, Lomachenko looked brilliant in his last fight, while the former pound-for-pound king looked great in his fight before that, when he was in the opinion of many robbed of a win over Devin Haney.
How much more greatness can Loma, 18-3(12) add to his name and to his resume before he’s done? Should the man who compiled crazy numbers at amateur level pick up a win over a Tank or a Shakur (or both) before exiting the sport, where would he rank all-time? Tough question, but Loma will definitely go down as a true great; while at the same time, it’s so easy and tantalising to imagine Lomachenko boxing fellow 135 pound legends such as Roberto Duran, Pernell Whitaker, Benny Leonard, and others.
As has been said before now, we must enjoy Lomachenko while he’s here. And for right now, Lomachenko is still here at the top of his game. And at the top of the world rankings we all pay attention to.
