By Norm Frauenheim-
It’s high risk for a fighter who calls himself Hi-Tech.
Vasiliy Lomachenko, a consensus pound-for-pound No.1 for a couple of years in the post-Floyd Mayweather era, is at a career crossroads in a fight that appears to be a way of strengthening his argument for a rematch with Teofimo Lopez.
But Masayoshi Nakatani is a tough way to go. In Nakatani, Lomachenko encounters all of the dimensions –and then some – that troubled the Ukrainian in his move up the scale and into a loss last October to Lopez.
Lomachenko’s scorecard defeat was debatable on a couple of levels. The judging was one-sided, especially the 119-109 and 117-111 scores. ESPN’s Andre Ward, former super-middleweight and light-heavyweight champion, scored it a draw. So did I.
After reviewing the lightweight bout several times, my card could have been 115-113 or even 116-112, — the third official score – all for Lopez. Never for Lomachenko, who has since said he is convinced it was a draw.
From every angle in repeated reviews, Lopez wins the argument with energy, poise, size and – in the end – knowing he was the bigger guy. That was the key then. It might be the key now for Lomachenko (14-2, 10 KOs) Saturday night (ESPN+, 4:15 PT./7:15 pm ET)) against Nakatani (19-1, 13 KOs) at Las Vegas’ Virgin Hotels.
Nakatani is bigger in every significant aspect. At 5-11 ½, he is 4 ½ inches taller than Lomachenko and 3 ½ inches taller than Lopez. In reach, he has a 5 ½ advantage over Lomachenko, 3 ½ over Lopez. The appropriately named tale-of -the-tape doesn’t measure everything, of course. If it did, Russian 7-footer Nikolai Valuev would still be the heavyweight champ. It doesn’t measure those proverbial intangibles. Lomachenko has plenty in terms of footwork, punching angles, smarts and instinct.
Then, again, so does Nakatani. The Japanese fighter’s skill set has been questioned, but there’s not much doubt about his will. He’s there for the distance. For Lomachenko, that’s the problem. And the challenge.
Lomachenko needs a stoppage. He has to do what Lopez could not. His argument for a rematch with Lopez hinges on one because Nakatani is the reference point. Nakatani forced Lopez to go the distance for the first time a couple of years ago in Oxon Hill, MD.
Lopez won a unanimous decision, similar to his decision over Lomachenko in that the scoring didn’t reflect the fight in July 2019. It was close, or at least a lot closer than the 118-110, 119-109, 118-110 cards. Even the ever-confidant Lopez called the bout, a then a lightweight title eliminator, “horrible.’’
A decision — from one-sided to close and everything in between — just won’t do it for Lomachenko. A complication, perhaps, is injury. Since the former featherweight and junior lightweight champion jumped to 135 pounds, he’s been vulnerable. He underwent surgery on his right shoulder the week after his loss to Lopez. He apparently aggravated a lingering injury. But, apparently, it was enough to make him cautious through the first seven rounds against Lopez.
Believe what you want, he can’t afford another injury, even with a definitive stoppage of Nakatani. He’s 33. The best of his prime is probably behind him. Another injury, even in a definitive knockout of Nakatani, would leave him with a dilemma.
Risk further injury against Lopez, perhaps at even heavier weight, 140 pounds?
Move back to 130, where his skill set was dominant in every way?
The latter would end any hope at avenging his loss to Lopez, who is already calling out undisputed junior-welterweight Josh Taylor.
There’s really no choice for a fighter whose Hi-Tech nickname has summed up the variety of options included in his unique skill set. Lomachenko needs a clean stoppage for his career at the top of the game to continue. Attachments area
