How would you rate Vasily Lomachenko's career overall

Discussion in 'World Boxing Forum' started by Flo_Raiden, Jun 5, 2025 at 6:37 AM.


How was Lomachenko's boxing career

  1. All Time Great level

    11 vote(s)
    28.9%
  2. Hall of Famer (Good but not great)

    21 vote(s)
    55.3%
  3. Underwhelming

    6 vote(s)
    15.8%
  1. Flo_Raiden

    Flo_Raiden Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    That I can understand when taking into account all the hype and praise he got initially. For someone with such an incredible amateur background and top level skills that he possessed I'm still left somewhat underwhelmed with how his career ended even though he's still considered a HOF worthy fighter. He leaves more question marks than anything else. And as stated before I think his career would look vastly different had he just stuck around at 130 and made his jump to 135 later.

    If only Loma possessed Usyk's grit and urgency to win. He might have been able to secure wins in his fights that he lost to (Salido, Lopez, Haney).
     
  2. offshoot

    offshoot New Member Full Member

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    He's probably around the same level of ATG standing as the likes of Pernell Whittaker, Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley, Vitali Klitschko, Jeff Fenech.

    Which is very good, but you just think with different choices and different judges in his losses. etc ... With his ability he should have been in the Usyk, Mayweather, Pacquiao discussion
     
    Last edited: Jun 5, 2025 at 10:12 AM
  3. Pimp C

    Pimp C Too Much Motion Full Member

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    No doubt hof borderline top 100 atg
     
  4. George Crowcroft

    George Crowcroft Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    Yeah, for me it's really just the managerial decisions that were made on top of the hype. I got into boxing a little before the Rigo fight, and that was my first time hearing about it. I watched it live with my dad and was blown away. Since then, it's just been disappointment after disappointment. I'm not even dropping all the blame at his feet, but the way he's turned out has been extremely underwhelming imo.

    Especially given just how damn good he is. He's arguably the 2nd best technician of this century imo.
     
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  5. Fogger

    Fogger Father, grandfather and big sports fan. Full Member

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    Perhaps because his professional career got started late, Loma didn't turn out to be quite what his skill level suggests. Don't get me wrong, that's not a knock on him. He was a great fighter and will eventually be in the Hall of Fame.

    It's just that Lomachenko was a unicorn skill wise. There are very few fighters in my lifetime who had physical abilities which no one else could approach, relative to their size. Muhammad Ali, Roy Jones Jr. and Lomachenko are the three which come to mind and the first two had much better careers. Part of that is era related, fighters just don't fight as often. Part of it was out of Loma's hands such as COVID and the war. Part of it is on Loma. The man is not a powerful puncher but at the lower weight classes he made men quit because they couldn't deal with his punch selection, footwork and work rate. He would overwhelm them with his skills. Once he moved to 135 things changed and his fights were considerably more competitive. He didn't seem to have that extra gear when he really needed it and he would give away rounds.

    In answer to the thread question. Lomachenko's skills are a 10+++ but his career was an 8.5
     
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  6. Lonsdale81

    Lonsdale81 Member Full Member

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    I remember he said he almost pulled out of the Lopez fight just before.. his dad wanted him too, and he was considering retirement then if he did.. so there's been issues there for some time now.. he was definitely off that night , but i also think Lopez is just a strong little fker too & his physicality bothered Loma who never was really more than a natural SFW.. & he's never really looked as effective at 135 either..

    I'll miss him man, Loma fight night was a must in this house.. but yes he lacks marquee names.. Haney fight was a flat out robbery though, but again that's naivety on him and his team's part because you could see leading up to that fight that the machine was laying the groundwork for a younger US golden goose Haney win over the old master.. & barring a KO he was gunna lose..

    It's been an absolute joy to watch his fights though & he made his own unique mark on the sport.. footwork was otherworldly.. hes found peace in God & a new chapter now & i think we all wish him well. Thanks Loma.
     
  7. TEAM_LOMA

    TEAM_LOMA This is Boxing Full Member

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    Simply one of the most talanted boxers in the history of the sport. You can even make an argument that he never lost as a pro
     
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  8. deadACE

    deadACE Well-Known Member Full Member

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    Amazing career and a special fighter. One of a kind really.
     
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  9. ash234

    ash234 Ash Full Member

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    To be fair he could barely throw a punch against Lopez, his shoulder was knackered.
     
  10. Serge

    Serge Ginger Dracula Staff Member

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    Great career and it could and should have been so much better given the absurd amount of talent he was blessed with and his otherworldly skill level

    As I keep saying, 135 is only his 3rd weight class because he turned pro four months before his 26th birthday. He weighed 129lbs in the ring for his pro debut, just 3lbs about the division limit and had he turned pro the same age as many of his peers in his teens it would be at least his 6th weight class. If he turned pro the same age as Manny it would be like his 8th or 9th because he was campaigning at atomweight at that age with same day weigh ins but all this ever so predictably gets completely ignored

    And if he did turn pro at the same age as so many of his peers and fellow greats he would be at least a six or seven weight world champion. You can try and argue otherwise but you are wrong. He's never lost to a smaller fighter in his life, all of his losses as a pro came vs fighters who were way bigger and heavier than him or obscenely bigger, heavier and longer
    And given he should've become undisputed at 35 y/o at 135 when past his best vs a way bigger gigantic 135 pounder who weighed 20lbs more than him with a near six inch reach advantage, in their backyard on a deck which couldn't have been more stacked against him tells you everything you need to know about that.

    Imagine Loma vs opponents who weighed 10-20lbs less than him? He was a mismatch against opponents his own size for goodness sake, let alone smaller or much smaller than him

    There's a reason why he looks absolutely tiny for 135 and his opponents look way bigger than him. Because he is and they are. Compare how Crawford looks in his 3rd and 4th weight classes to his opponents at hose weights and how Inoue looks at 118 and 122 vs his to how Loma does at 135 to his. It's literally night and day and if there is any size disparity between them and their opponents it's either not noticeable at all or barely so, whereas, conversely, there is a very stark contrast to how Loma looks to his opponents

    When this photo was taken

    135 << Loma here
    130
    126
    122
    118 << Inoue here

    Nothing more needs to be said

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    He should only have one loss as a pro and he only has one loss as an amateur which was avenged x 2, so that's 2 legit losses in 424 fights and he never got the chance to avenge any of his losses as a pro because Salido, Teo and Haney all ducked him. The only reason he has 3 losses is because of corruption rearing its ugly head again

    Imagine watching the Salido fight and actually thinking that Salido shouldn't have been DQ'd? Literally over 1/3 of his total punch connects were low blows and so many flagrantly or outrageously low but the corrupt as sin ref didn't even deduct a single point from him or give him a hard warning for hitting Loma over 50 low blows

    He clearly beat Haney too, a 20lb heavier Haney, with a near six inch reach advantage, in Haney's backyard, with a home ref and three home judges, a 36 hour weigh in for a fight between the bigger 135 pounder I've ever seen and one of the smallest ones we've ever seen. Decks don't get more stacked than that

    He fought GRJ in the US with a US ref and 3 US judges

    Teofimo in the US with a US ref and 3 US judges

    Haney in the US with a US ref and 3 US judges

    Name one current American fighter who has ever fought a world title fight in their foreign opponent's country with a home ref and three home judges. I'll wait.

    Not only have any of them ever done this but none of them ever will in their entire careers. Loma did it three times in 21 fights and he was robbed by judges in all of them.

    One of the judges scored the GRJ fight a draw despite Loma dominating the fight with ease

    One scored the Teofimo fight 119-109 despite Loma winning the vast majority of rounds in the second half of the fight

    They all scored the fight for Haney when only 17 or 18k of the 118k of fans who voted in FightHub's poll scored it for Haney

    But so many ignorant clowns expected him to return to the scene of the crime to get robbed again and robbed of a huge part of his legacy (just like GGG and Kovalev to name a few were) vs Twink and Shakur where he would have to win via KO to come away with a draw and do something that none of them have ever done once in their career or ever will do once in their careers.
     
  11. drenlou

    drenlou VIP Member Full Member

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    He's a bona-fide HALL OF FAMER, I wish him all the best.
     
  12. Serge

    Serge Ginger Dracula Staff Member

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    The fact he won over 400 amateur fights and lost just once in all that time should tell you how incredible his skill level is. You don't think he suffered injuries and had bad days at the office during that span? But he still was able to maintain a level of consistency that no other amateur great ever could despite that

    This is his trophy cabinet

    He won every single tournament he entered as an amateur in almost 400 fights sans one where he came second. Just think about that for a second

    One solitary silver medal in an ocean of gold

    Timestamped

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    Another absolutely insane stat

    He conceded only 7 points when he won the gold medal at the 2009 World Amateur Championships despite the fact he broke his hand in the tournament. Just 7 freaking points in the whole tournament. Most amateur greats concede that amount in single fights

    'Even a broken hand couldn't stop Lomachenko as he won gold at the 2009 World Championships in Milan while compromised. In that tournament, he beat his five opponents by a 56 point margin, outscoring them 63–7.'

    And again

    'Lomachenko won gold at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and avenged his 2007 World Championship defeat to rival and reigning world champion, Selimov, in the first round. He beat his five opponents by an astonishing 45 point margin, outscoring them 58–13, en route to his first gold medal at the senior level. He was subsequently named the outstanding boxer of the tournament and awarded the Val Barker Trophy. His dominant run was described by one historian as "probably the most impressive streak in Olympic boxing ever."

    Additionally, he won gold again that year to also become continental champion at the European Championships in Liverpool, conceding just 4 points against his four opponents

    I don't think there is any amateur in the history of the sport no matter great they were in the amateurs or pros who can boast such insane defensive stats as those and even more impressive Loma isn't a runner or an octopus

    This is supernatural type stuff
     
  13. IM JUST SAYING!

    IM JUST SAYING! New Member Full Member

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    Yep. Perfectly put.
     
  14. tinman

    tinman Loyal Member Full Member

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    Backed down against Lopez. Lacked a career defining win. Good fighter. Did not live up to the hype though.
     
  15. tarrant45

    tarrant45 Active Member Full Member

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    I could argue Ortiz beat him and was robbed. Loma way overrated.