By Ian S Palmer
WBA Super World Lightweight Titleholder and WBO Lightweight champ Vasyl Lomachenko of Ukraine will be taking on Anthony Crolla of Manchester, England this Friday, April 12th. The 12-round bout from the Staple Center in Los Angeles, California, can be seen live on ESPN+ in the USA while fans in the UK catch it on Sky Sports. Lomachenko last fought in December when he beat Jose Pedraza by a unanimous decision. Crolla’s last scrap was in November when be Daud Yordan by a 12-round unanimous decision. Lomachenko took the WBA title from Jorge Linares via a 10th-round stoppage last May.
The 31-year-old southpaw Lomachenko, known as ‘Hi Tech’, has also held the WBO Super Featherweight and Featherweight titles. He now fights out of Oxnard, California and has a pro record of 12-1 with 9 Kos, but is considered by many to be the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world at the moment. Lomachenko’s lone loss came at the hands of Orlando Salido by controversial split decision in March, 2014 in his second pro fight.
He turned pro in 2013 after winning two Olympic gold medals for his homeland in 2008 and 2012. Lomachenko obviously enjoyed an excellent and extensive amateur career and then won the WBO Featherweight crown against Gary Russell Jr. via majority decision in June of 2014. He defended it against Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo, Gamalier Rodriguez, and Romulo Koasicha before moving up in weight.
He then beat Roman Martinez by fifth-round KO in June of 2016 for the Super Featherweight Title and defended it against Nicholas Walters, Jason Sosa, Miguel Marriaga and Guillermo Rigondeaux. Lomachenko possesses fantastic footwork, speed, and accuracy with good power and overall ring generalship, which often leaves his opponents totally frustrated. He’s got a good chin, but Linares did drop him in the sixth round back in May.
In general, Lomachenko tends to break his opponents down with solid combinations and body and head shots. He stands 5-feet-7-inches tall and has a wingspan of 65.5 inches. He’s fought 115 rounds since turning pro with a current knockout ratio of 69 per cent. Lomachenko has become a more aggressive boxer with each passing fight in the pro ranks and his power is becoming a bit more more dominant. Even though he went the distance with Pedraza, he did drop him twice in the 11th round.
The 32-year-old Crolla is a former WBA Lightweight Champion and will enter the ring with a record of 34-6-3 along with 13 Kos. Crolla resumed his career after suffering a fractured skull and broken ankle in an attack a couple of years ago. The boxer heard a commotion in his neighbour’s yard and decided to intervene when it looked like the neighbour was about to be robbed. Since then he’s fought Jorge Linares twice and dropped a pair of unanimous decisions.
He’s also fought Darleys Perez of Colombia twice with a draw and a win via fifth-round stoppage in November, 2015 to win his title, and also beat Ismael Barroso. His last three wins have come against Yourdan, Edson Ramirez and Ricky Burns, all by unanimous decisions. Crolla captured the WBA Lightweight crown in the second meeting with Perez and lost it to Linares in their first meeting in September of 2016.
He stands just over 5-feet-8-inches tall and has a 67-inch reach, giving him a one-inch and 1.5-inch advantage over Lomachenko in height and reach respectively. Crolla turned pro in 2006 and has gone 285 rounds since then. He doesn’t possess much in the way of power though with a current knockout ratio of just 30 per cent. Crolla’s other four losses have been against domestic opponents. He drew with Derry Mathews and was beaten by Youssef Al Hamidi and lost twice to Gary Sykes.
In addition, Mathews stopped him in the sixth round back in 2012. However, he’s also fought some decent British opponents such as Andy Morris, John Watson, Willie Limond, Gavin Rees and John Murray. Crolla has fought extremely well since his injuries and has looked world class in his encounters with Linares and Perez. He’s improved greatly over the past few years and more than held his own against Linares in their close first fight.
Prediction…
Crolla has improved over the few years, but to be honest, fans want to see Lomachenko taking on the cream of the crop and fellow champions, not contenders. Crolla was impressive and durable against Perez and Linares, but he doesn’t have the power to keep Lomachenko off of him. I’m expecting Lomachenko to eventually break Crolla down and stop him.
