Vasyl Lomachenko VS Jose Luis Castillo

Do you think he hasn't improved?

 

That actually makes sence. Beltran may be a good test, not as good as Castillo in early 2000s but extremely tough pressure fighter, bigger than Loma.

If Loma struggles vs Beltran, I'd be worried about his chances vs better pressure fighters, but I think he'll be OK and wins easily...

 

Read much? I think it should been scored a draw because...and I'll say it slowly this time...it was a very close fight that could have gone either way. Recall who was hanging on for dear life late. Only a moron or someone with an agenda believes the fight was a decisive victory.

And here's a tip, man, calling me a "Loma nutgger" is no substitute for a counterargument to my analysis of the fight.

Finally, if you don't think Loma has improved since that fight, I have some swamp-land in Florida I'd like to sell you.

 

Papa Loma told his son, prior to the 10th, "I think he's getting tired."

[url]Loma fans* were hailing Papa Loma as a guru yesterday,[/url] but now his word is in question. I don't know what to think.

Hmm. Salido did fall over as a result of fatigue in the 10th ("he's definitely getting tired", "he was looking for a breather", "betraying the fact that he's tired"), so maybe Old Man Loma was onto something.

Loma's power punch numbers were plenty high against the Mexican doméstico he fought in his pro debut. His output and footwork weren't nonexistent prior to the late rounds with Salido, either. It's not as if every Salido advance resulted in a clinch prior to the 10th. Loma was making angles, but he was doing so evasively, and for a reason. Many times that Loma was poised to make a mid-range angle and punch, Salido would throw to the body and Loma would end up darting out of range. And they weren't all below the belt, either. The best success Loma had with angles early in the fight was in the few occasions that he would draw a lead and then make the angle when Salido was out of position and not set to punch. Whether one wants to believe it or not, Loma was deterred from taking those mid-range punching angles he had the ability to create. Whether one wants to credit it or not, Salido offset him. Even at range, Salido was always threatening Loma's body, which kept the latter honest. It always amazes me how fans believe fighters impose their stuff as routinely as one would activate an ability in a video game, or that a decrease in a fighter's effectivity is more likely a matter of whim, forgetfulness or happenstance than the qualities and skills of the guy in front of them (see Fury-Wlad vs. AJ-Wlad). Loma probably didn't think anyone would take it literally when he said he was a video game character and his pop was the player.

Salido kept putting out, but fatigue crept into his performance in those late rounds and he began backing up due to diminished strength and stamina. That gave the younger, fresher, freak of physical conditioning more license to pick up his offense in 10-12 and introduce the attacking angles more. Stamina is a part of boxing. Salido's fatigue doesn't invalidate the success Loma had in the later going, so it shouldn't be a problem to admit he was fatiguing. If the objective is to uphold an infallible image of Loma, then I get it - but still, a lot of people just aren't credulous enough to buy that Loma had only just remembered to hit the 'Matrix' button going into the final 1/4 of the fight. It's a compliment to Loma's fitness that he was able to be the fresher man down the stretch, after having his body massaged for a half hour, against a veteran with experience of distance fights. Maybe less of compliment to his problem-solving skills, but we can't have everything.

Salido deserves more respect for his skills, besides. His footwork may not be conspicuous or pretty, but it's not mindless. Could be you never noticed his ability to turn with Loma on occasion, especially in those later rounds, while alternately scoring with a hard hook (or two) or slipping incoming blows. Or that he kept Loma occupied with with feints. Or that he's a pretty canny defender. Or that he knows how to clinch, which he used to partially frustrate the mid-range angle changes Loma was making in the later going. Who cares if he slipped some goon tactics into the mix here and there? That's pro boxing, been that way since before we were born. Man's sport, not for crybabies. Stephen Smith wasn't crying with his ear hanging off and an official on his case - fans should be a bit tougher, too.


*A quick glance at the first page of your post history suggests that you haven't posted about any subject that didn't involve Loma in over a fortnight, so you'll forgive me if I take the liberty of assuming you're a fan.

 

Kindly remind me when I suggested that Salido wasn't fatigued?

I said that fatigue was scarcely a factor in the final third of the fight. Fortunately, we have something of a quantitative metric to measure Salido's fatigue as well as how economical a pace Lomachenko pursued in the opening frames of the fight.

In the first three rounds of the fight, Salido threw 26, 44, and 50 punches, respectively. Curiously, however, this fatigue plagued fighter threw 62, 45, and 59 in the final three rounds of a fight. Salido, therefore, threw 46 more punches in rounds 10,11, and 12 then he threw in rounds 1,2, and 3. Clearly, a fatigue-induced lack of activity on Salido's part was not the principal factor in Lomachenko's markedly improved performance in those rounds (particularly rounds 11 and 12).

It amazes me, however, when fans listen to what is being said in a corner over there lying eyes.

So what was the principal factor? The numbers certainly suggest it was exactly what I said it was: Lomachenko letting his hands go.

In the first three rounds, Lomachenko threw 20, 29, and 31 punches, respectively. Yet, in the final three rounds of the fight, Lomachenko threw 40, 48, and 67 punches, respectively. Lomachenko, consequently, threw a whopping 75 more punches--or nearly double his output from the first three rounds--in rounds 10,11, and 12 then he threw in rounds 1,2, and 3. Lomachenko threw more than 40 punches in a round only once through the first 6 rounds. Conversely, he threw more than 40 punches in a round in 4 out of the final 6 rounds.

Now, while some might call that happenstance, I call it by design, which of course was my original point.

Indeed, in Lomachenko's very next fight, he threw 52 and 53 punches, respectively, in the first two rounds, more than double his output against Salido. Perhaps somebody just flipped the video game switch.

 

People say Loma would have battered Salido in an immediate rematch. However I'm certain an imediate rematch is 11 rounds more than he needed. Loma lost that fight from lack of 12 round experience. Loma takes care of Castillo.

 

It was a decisive victory. Loma tried to catch up and ran out of rounds. That's why I want to see him clean up the rematch.

 

Castillo would be too much for Loma. He's too big and comes forward. He might've smothered and tkod Loma.

 

Castillo is taller with longer reach than Salido also better chin if you play the same scenery with Loma he should be the winner.

 

I mean making the first fight a 13 rounder.

 

If Castillo weighs in over the limit and brutalizes Loma's nuts with impunity, history suggests Castillo would likely win a close decision, had Loma fought him in his second pro fight.

 

Lomachenko would out box Castillo..................