Breaking
Tag

Vasiliy Lomachenko

Browsing
CELEB NEWS

Isaac Cruz will be ready if Gervonta Davis comes calling

By
Gervonta Davis

With Vasiliy Lomachenko seemingly unwilling to face Gervonta “Tank” Davis this November, Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz says he’s ready to step in.

First, Cruz, the WBA junior welterweight titleholder, must get past the dangerous Jose “Rayo” Valenzuela (13-2, 9 KOs) on Aug. 3, in the co-feature to the Terence Crawford-Israil Madrimov 154-pound title headliner at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.

“It is surprising because I thought it was almost a done deal, but then again, if he didn’t want to fight him, you’ve got to respect Lomachenko’s decision,” Cruz (26-2-1, 18 KOs) told BoxingScene. “And then that just means that I’m in top condition to be able to be considered to fight Gervonta on whatever date is available at the end of the year, and if it happens, I will be ready.”

PBC representatives for Davis (30-0, 28 KOs) negotiated for weeks with Top Rank and Lomachenko manager Egis Klimas to put together what might have been the biggest fight of 2024. The 135-pound unification was targeted for November in Las Vegas. All of that came to a halt when Klimas announced that his fighter had turned down the fight, opting instead to take the rest of the year off and spend more time with his family.

“I don’t know, but you got to respect his decision,” said Cruz. “I don’t know what other names you can bring to the table for Gervonta, but I only hope it can be attractive to the fans.”

Cruz is no stranger to Davis. As a late replacement for Rolando “Rolly” Romero in December 2021, Cruz gave the undefeated three-division champion the toughest bout of his career, going the distance with and losing a close decision to arguably the hardest pound-for-pound puncher in boxing. Cruz has been calling for a rematch ever since. Now there is a strong chance of it finally happening, provided Cruz gets by Valenzuela – no easy task.

“I’m going to be ready to go from the opening bell up to the final second of the fight,” Cruz said. “And my goal is to give fans a great show and to come out on top in the end.”

Keep Reading
By
BOXING

Hall Of Famer Says There Is ‘No Doubt’ Lomachenko Ducked Gervonta Davis: “He’s Done It Before”

By

Gervonta Davis and Vasiliy Lomachenko were all set to ramp up negotiations for a lightweight unification fight before the latter pulled out due to a lack of motivation.

The elite Ukrainian recently won the vacant IBF World Title by being the first man to stop George Kambosos Jr, a win that lined up well with ‘Tank’ Davis successfully defending his new WBA belt against Frank Martin by knockout.

The door was open then for a clash between the champions – something Lomachenko wanted years prior – and Bob Arum’s Top Rank said initial talks were positive. Things changed when Lomachenko’s manager, Egis Klimas, said his fighter wouldn’t be out again this year as he wasn’t motivated.

Speaking to Sean Zittel, Hall of Fame fighter turned analyst Time Bradley was full of praise for the Ukrainian but couldn’t call the move anything other than a ‘duck.’

Bradley went on to say that the three-weight world champion, at 36-years-old, may call it a day – although word from his camp suggests otherwise.

Gervonta Davis may now target a unification with WBC Champion Shakur Stevenson.

Keep Reading
By
BOXING

Gervonta Davis Team Set Sights On One Man After Lomachenko Collapse: “Let’s See If He Ducks Too”

By
Gervonta Davis

Gervonta Davis looked set to unify the lightweight world titles against Vasiliy Lomachenko.

Following an impressive knockout win over Frank Martin to retain his WBA belt, ‘Tank’ made it clear he would take on the Ukrainian, who recently won the vacant IBF title by beating George Kambosos Jr.

Things were looking positive until Lomachenko’s manager claimed his fighter wasn’t yet motivated to return to the ring, and reports later confirmed talks were off.

‘Tank’ Davis’ co-trainer Kenny Ellis told Mill City Boxing that it was time for Lomachenko to retire if he didn’t want this mega-money bout.

Asked what his initial thoughts on the news were and what happens next, Ellis said he feels Lomachenko is ducking Davis and hopes WBC Champion Shakur Stevenson won’t do the same.

The move from Lomachenko to withdraw from negotiations does indeed open the door to a fight with Stevenson, who this month became a free agent after a longterm promotional deal with Top Rank.

In theory, the fight should be easy enough to make, with both men recently coming off a defence. Whether that translates to signing the contract remains to be seen.

Keep Reading
By
BOXING

Top Trainer Robert Garcia Has No Doubt On Gervonta Davis-Shakur Stevenson Winner: “Unbeatable”

By

Boxing’s lightweight division has three champions all believing they are the man to beat at 135.

Vasiliy Lomachenko rolled back the years in his last performance, becoming the first man to ever stop George Kambosos Jr after landing some punishing body shots. With that victory Loma captured the IBF world tittle and put himself in line once again for a big fight.

However, the two fighters most pundits pick as the best in the division are WBC champion Shakur Stevenson and WBA belt holder Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis.

The two have wildly contrasting styles, with Shakur being a master defensive boxer whilst ‘Tank’ carries ferocious one punch knockout power.

In his last outing Stevenson once again showed his talent and coasted to a wide unanimous decision against Artem Harutyunyan, but for the second fight in a row the crowd showed their displeasure with the action at the final bell.

Tank on the other hand delivered exactly what he said he would, and knocked out game Frank Martin in the eighth round with an uppercut followed by a vicious left hand.

Speaking to Fight Hype, renowned coach Robert Garcia , who currently trains pound-for-pound star Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez among others, believes Davis is unbeatable at lightweight.

It looks like Lomachenko will get a shot at Davis first with the two currently in negotiations to fight before the end of the year.

Keep Reading
By
BOXING

Oscar De La Hoya Makes Emphatic Gervonta Davis-Lomachenko Prediction: “No Disrespect”

By
Gervonta Davis

According to head of Top Rank promotions, Bob Arum, his man Vasiliy Lomachenko is in negotiations to face Gervonta Davis next.

Lomachenko is a three-weight world champion and currently holds the IBF lightweight title after rolling back the years with a vintage performance against former champion George Kambosos Jr.

The Ukrainian became the first man to stop Kambosos after the towel was thrown in by the corner in the eleventh round after a series of punishing body shots.

‘Tank’ returned to the ring last month for the first time since stopping Ryan Garcia over a year ago to face previously unbeaten American Frank Martin.

WBA Champion Davis did what he seems to always do by conceding the early rounds but applying increasing pressure to his opponent, putting them under physical and mental strain.

The Baltimore native finished his man in the eighth round when he landed an uppercut followed by a devastating straight left.

Before the fight Tank made it clear that Loma was on his hit list and now talks have started for a fight towards the end of the year,

Speaking to ES NEWS about the possible unification matchup, legendary former fighter turned promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, thinks the time is perfect for Davis to ‘dethrone’ Lomachenko.

Another man chasing a fight with Tank is WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson who is coming off another dominant, if underwhelming, points victory over Artem Harutyunyan.

Keep Reading
By
BOXING

‘Take the Bomb Apart’: Atlas Wants to See Lomachenko-Davis

By
Gervonta Davis

The discussion over who Vasiliy Lomachenko should fight next after his revival knockout of former lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr. is rich.

For veteran trainer Teddy Atlas, it should also be short.

Atlas said on Monday’s episode of “Deep Waters” on ProBox TV that the timing is right now for new IBF lightweight champion Lomachenko, 36, to seek out a unification date against WBA champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis by year’s end.

While Davis (29-0, 27 KOs) has a Prime Video pay-per-view title defense to make on June 15 in Las Vegas against unbeaten Frank Martin, “Tank” posted on X Saturday night that he intends to get to Lomachenko after his planned victory over Martin.

Of course, unbeaten WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson and three-division champion Emanuel Navarrete, who’s fighting for the WBO lightweight strap Saturday would likely also crave that bout.

Like Stevenson, Navarrete is promoted by Lomachenko promoter Top Rank.

But Atlas urged the parties to rush, likening Davis-Lomachenko to Canelo Alvarez versus David Benavidez: “If this fight is going to happen, it has to happen soon. (For) Lomachenko, the clock is ticking.”

Atlas said his fascination with the matchup is how “The Matrix” Lomachenko can maneuver and dissect Davis, comparing his task observing “a guy go in to disarm a bomb.

“He has to take the red wire out and the green wire out without touching the blue wire – or it’s going to blow everything up,” Atlas said. “That is what [Lomachenko] has done in the past: he’s disarmed really terrific punchers, champions of years ago. But now he’s got to do it against a guy with nitroglycerine in his gloves, a pound-for-pound fighter who can do it all.”

Fellow “Deep Waters” analyst Paulie Malignaggi argued Lomachenko’s not obligated now that he’s older to fight a foe in Premier Boxing Champions’ Davis.

Malignaggi claimed Davis “ducked him years ago … Lomachenko has been brought up to ‘Tank’ since he’s been 130 pounds and he’s never even acknowledged him. ‘Tank’ is a great fighter. He picks his opponents a little too much for my liking, but I still enjoy watching him.”

Atlas says there’s no sense in lamenting the past when the bout seems ripe now.

“I still want to see it because Lomachenko has a chance to do something that would be fun to watch: Go in and take the bomb apart,” the trainer said.

Stevenson may opt to return to the Top Rank stable following the expiration of his current deal with the promoter after his July 6 title defense simply for the sake of fighting Lomachenko.

“I like Shakur against everybody, ‘Tank’ included,” “Deep Waters” analyst Chris Algieri said. “Shakur said [fighting Lomachenko] would be the highest IQ boxing match, two boxing chess players. My concern is it wouldn’t be the most entertaining, scintillating fight. Shakur is very good at diffusing interactions.

“Lomachenko will have to close the distance and make a fight of it. You’re looking at a 36-year-old guy fighting guys at their absolute primes. It’s a tough fight for Lomachenko.”

While Malignaggi said Stevenson doesn’t deserve criticism for his attention to defense when teams in the NBA and NHL have avoided such chiding, he admits there would not be “the buzz” of Lomachenko-Davis.

And perhaps three-division champion Lomachenko (18-3, 12 KOs) and his father-trainer, Anatoli, will decide to retire on top.

Top Rank President Todd DuBoef told BoxingScene Monday that Lomachenko will “sit at the head of the table” and select whom he prefers to fight next after these three lightweight title bouts over the next six weeks.

“If he decides to fight, [Stevenson] is the easier fight to make,” Malignaggi said.

Keep Reading
By
BOXING

“Always ready.” The newly minted IBF titleholder responded to Gervonta Davis challenge

By

After his decisive victory over George Kambosos, newly crowned IBF champion Vasiliy Lomachenko commented on the possibility of facing Gervonta Davis.

 

Following today’s bout, Davis issued a challenge to Lomachenko online, only to promptly delete the post from his X platform (formerly Twitter).

In the fight against Kambosos, Lomachenko exhibited complete dominance, seemingly heading towards a decision victory by the judges. However, the Ukrainian had other plans.

In the eleventh round, Vasiliy delivered a precise jab, sending his opponent into a knockout. Though Kambosos managed to rise to his feet seconds later, he couldn’t withstand another onslaught from Lomachenko, prompting the referee to halt the bout.

Keep Reading
By