Lomachenko should probably just accept that he's too small for the division and move down. That said, he had success in the later rounds and there's no reason to write him off in a rematch.
I'm curious to see what Loma's naysayers think about the rematch. It's probably gonna happen, and deep down we all know Loma is gonna beat Lopez 12-0.
I think Loma underestimated Lopez, and probably thought he could wear him out in the second half of the fight and stop him. In the rematch, he'll step on the gas early and Lopez's cornermen will throw in the towel.
I hope to see it whether Lopez wins by dominant KO or gets totally schooled. Do I think we'll see it? Nope. Lomachenko had to take a paycut to get the first fight made so God only knows what Lopez will want to run it back. I say he says he's moving on to 140 and for the second time in his pro career Loma gets blanked on the rematch front.
Hard to say. Loma laid it on him for 5 rounds between 7 and 11, and Lopez was still able to outfight Loma in the 12th.
Even if he starts the rematch being the aggressor and throwing which lets be honest isn't his modus operandi as he usually takes a couple of rounds to gauge his opponent, I don't see it being an easy nights work for Loma. Yes he'll start winning rounds sooner than he did in the first fight, but remember the last round he got countered coming in and was hurt and forced to hold onto Lopez. Being the aggressor and pushing Lopez back doesn't come without risk. He didn't force the fight early on for a reason, Lopez had stopped 6 or his last 7 opponents, walking onto Lopez's power is risky. The fighter who makes the better adjustments will win the rematch. Loma needs to press more and be more active but at the same time needs to not get caught coming in as much, while he was winning the exchanges for most of the later rounds he was getting hit far more than were used to seeing and against a big puncher things can unravel very quickly. Lopez needs to find an answer for Loma's aggression, he can't bank on Loma boxing early and giving away rounds again. He especially needs to find an answer for Loma's right hook, he was landing that a lot over Lopez's low left hand.
Well, if you think someone with the boxing IQ of Loma simply 'forgot' to box well enough for the first half of the fight, and could simply have 'stepped on the gas' earlier and won then fair enough. I've been watching boxing enough to know that Loma is deteriorating physically and won't get that back, especially boxing well above his natural weight. If Loma tries to go harder and overwhelm and out-land Lopez, he'll get nailed to the mid-section and get stopped. He can't hang in the pocket nor can he dance and pot-shot/shoe-shine his way to victory over 12. He won't take a rematch imo.
Easy win for Loma in rematch. Imho. He's got lopez figured out now. Earlier start with more activity is the strategy. Lopez corner throws the towel in rematch. Just hope his team did put the rematch clause .
How does an informed boxing fan convince themselves Loma simply chose not to attempt to mount an offense for 6 rounds? How long does a genius need to "download data". He's simply just another really good fighter. Time to admit he's not the unstoppable force he was built up to be
I think it will be far from easy. But he did figure out a way to mount some offence in the later rounds which he simply wasn't able to do in the early rounds. The jab was the key for Loma. Loma likes to step off to the outside and jab over his opponents lead left hand. Problem was early on Lopez was using that step as a way of predicting Loma's jab and would slip and then throw a right hand counter in response. But in those later rounds Loma made an adjustment, instead of stepping to the outside to come around the lead left hand of Lopez, he simply stepped straight forward and threading the jab through the inside of his guard instead. Once he started doing that he was suddenly able to land jabs with regularity, just look at the jab punch stats for each round he went from landing a jab or two a round to suddenly landing jabs in double digits. Once Loma established the jab he was able to get inside and then pin Lopez's lead left hand to his body because Lopez holds it low and then come over the top with a right hook. But Lopez showed remarkable ring IQ to develop the strategy he did to win those rounds in the first half of the fight and he made an adjustment in the last round, he started stepping back more and looking to counter instead of just trying to hold the centre of the ring like he had for the majority of the fight and not allowing Loma to get close enough to pin his left hand down, turning him into a one handed fighter.
Most rematches tend to go the way of the first. Would not surprise me if Lopez did it again. Perhaps more emphatically.
100%..he won or at least deserved the draw for the first fight imo. When he decided to add volume he landed whenever he wanted snapping his head back constantly. It was quite funny actually.. Really embarrassing that he lost to Lopez tbh, he made the fight close with purely due to his power which is massively in part due to his size...
