Vasyl Lomachenko suffered the unfamiliar sting of defeat when he was beaten by the still undefeated Teofimo Lopez last weekend, but the pound-for-pound great says that he is ‘ready’ for a rematch.
Heavy favorite Lomachenko was beaten on points by the 23-year-old Honduran-American Lopez inside the MGM Grand Conference Center in Nevada on Saturday, surrendering his array of lightweight world titles in the process – and speaking immediately after the fight, the Ukrainian great said that he wants to survey the fight before making any specific statements on it.
“Right now it is hard for me to comment on the fight,” said afterwards, his brow still dripping with sweat after 12 rounds of action. “I understand everyone is frustrated but I want to watch it first before commenting.”
Lopez, who walked to the ring as a 3-1 betting underdog, caused one of the year’s most seismic shocks inside of a boxing ring when he stifled the usually potent boxing Lomachenko is known for.
He dominated several portions of the fight, and displayed resolve befitting a world champion as he outlasted Lomachenko’s late rally to defeat the unusually timid champion. By the time the final bell rang, it was clear to most observers that a changing of the guard in the lightweight division was upon us – but that hasn’t stopped Lomachenko from wanting to a second bite at the cherry.
Go behind the scenes on one of the biggest nights in Lightweight history ?? @lomachenkovasiliy @lomus_shop @toprank
“Because of his size and his reach it was not easy to get to him,” Lomachenko said of the problems his opponent presented inside the squared circle.
“It depends if he can give me a rematch. Of course, I am ready,” he added, suggesting the type of big-money rematch which will have both his and Lopez’s promoters salivating.
Of course, this isn’t a position that Lomachenko is familiar with. Despite suffering defeat early in his professional career (in a highly contentious fight with Orlando Salido), he has been near flawless throughout his amateur and professional careers.
As such, he had a simple message to his army of supporters across the boxing fraternity: sorry.
“I just want to say to all the fans, I am sorry if I let you guys down,” he said. “I want to thank all my team and I want to let them know we will move forward.”
