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Featherweight Vasyl Lomachenko get his gloves secured by a trainer in preparation for his May 2 fight in Las Vegas against Gamalier Rodriguez of Puerto Rico.
Lomachenko and Usyk: amateurs go pro
The Ukrainian boxing team won five of the country’s 20 medals at the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games, proving they were: 1) the world’s top boxing squad, and 2) Team Ukraine’s most valuable athletes. Four Ukrainians were heavily favored to win medals at the London Games – five succeeded, winning two gold, one silver and two bronze medals. Oleksandr Usyk and Vasyl Lomachenko (gold) were two of the five medal winners to parlay their outstanding amateur achievements into the beginnings of profitable professional paydays.
Lomachenko chased boxing history
When Vasyl Lomachenko, the heralded two-time Olympic gold medal champion was meeting with promoters to discuss a pro contract in the summer of 2013, he let them know he wanted to fight for a featherweight world title in his professional debut. As it turned out, Lomachenko had to wait for it until his second bout, a controversial loss to Orlando Salido.
“I wanted to make boxing history and to do that there was only one way – go fast and show everybody what I can do,” Lomachenko told ESPN.com in early October 2013, through manager and translator Egis Klimas. “I didn’t want to be like other fighters, fighting four- and six-round fights. That’s nonsense. I didn’t need to be built.”
(Only twice has a boxer fought for a world title in his pro debut. The famous time was when Pete Rademacher, a 1956 U.S. Olympic gold medalist, challenged Floyd Paterson for the heavyweight championship in 1957 and got dropped six times in a sixth-round knockout loss. In 1975, Rafael Lovera of Paraguay made his pro debut against Luis Estaba for a vacant junior flyweight title and got knocked out in the fourth round and never fought again.)
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum had been interested in signing Lomachenko since he won his first gold medal in 2008. The normal game plan is a four-rounder, maybe a six-rounder for the debut, and then he would move up the way fighters usually progress. To do it differently there would be much criticism without having a pro fight. A willingness to fight a top contender for a minor title would automatically qualify one to fight for a world title, perhaps setting it up for the second fight. This was the audacious plan selected for Lomachenko, who won featherweight Olympic gold in 2008 and the lightweight gold in 2012. To start his pro career he has fought at featherweight.
Delivering a title fight quickly enabled Arum to sign Lomachenko without even paying him a signing bonus. Instead he paid Lomachenko’s living expenses and a $100,000 purse for the debut, which increased incrementally in subsequent bouts.
Lomachenko’s sheer confidence impressed promoter Arum. It reminded him of Floyd Mayweather, who Arum signed after the 1996 Olympics and promoted through much of his career. Lomachenko’s body of work in amateur boxing, however, far surpassed Mayweather’s. Lomachenko selected the fast track for his professional career. The belief is he can accomplish any goal he sets for himself.
One area of expertise for Lomachenko is the sport of fisticuffs. For the 27-year-old from Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, trading punches comes as naturally as riding a bicycle. The first time he put gloves on and boxed in a ring was at four years young, a tournament in his hometown.
Most people in the world are still unaware of countries beyond the now torn down Iron Curtain. Ukraine, Kazakhstan and other nearby countries are bastions for soccer and boxing, not mixed martial arts and hockey. In Eastern European countries boxing has a huge following.
As a child Lomachenko idolized Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr., not Wayne Gretzky. He was advised winning at the Olympics was the most prestigious award in amateur boxing. He went on to win two gold medals.
Winning another gold medal would not add more luster for the Ukrainian, but winning a world title as a professional would be considered a great feat. Despite having a phone-book-thick resume of amateur boxing accomplishments, no promoter believed he could make the jump from amateur to pro championship bout without a hiccup. The curtain dropped on a great amateur career with over 300 fights, while another rose on what promises to be a great professional run.
Amateur achievements: Won the silver medal at the 2007 World amateur Boxing Championships, then gold medals at the same events in 2009 and 2011. He won gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the featherweight division and 2012 London Olympics in the lightweight division. He defeated Han Soon-Chul of South Korea in the final by 19-9. Lomachenko finished his amateur career with a record of 396-1, with the only loss in 2007 against Albert Selimov, a Russian southpaw, a loss he avenged twice.
Professional paydays: He made his pro debut in the U.S. on October 12, 2013, by defeating Mexican Jose Ramirez in a fourth-round knockout. His bid to make history by winning a world championship in his second fight (March 1, 2014) ended with a loss by split decision to Orlando Salido. Lomachenko shied away from engaging his opponent which Salido exploited. There was talk of questionable conduct by the bout’s referee, some dirty tactics by Salido and weight issues as contributing factors to Lomachenko’s loss. On June 22, 2014, Lomachenko defeated Gary Russell, Jr. in a 12-round majority decision to win the vacant WBO featherweight title. He joined Saensak Muangsurin as the fastest fighter to win a world title, accomplishing the feat in his third pro fight. He handled his first title defense against Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo of Thailand easily, scoring a knockdown at the end of the fourth round and an overall unanimous decision. He injured his left hand in the seventh round and used only one hand through round 12. [On May 2 Lomachenko (3-1-0, 1 KO) is set to defend his WBO featherweight title against Gamalier Rodriguez (25-2-3, 17 KO) of Puerto Rico at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in the undercard to the unifying (WBC, WBA, WBO) welterweight Mayweather-Pacquiao fight.]
Usyk boxer of the year
In October 2012 Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk received the Best Elite Men’s Boxer of the Year awarded by the Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA). The charismatic pugilist was one of the stand-out performers of the 2012 London Olympics. He was recognized for the Olympic gold medal he won in the heavyweight category: “The southpaw from Symferopol in Crimea delighted boxing fans worldwide with his all-action displays and his ‘Hopak’ dance celebration after his Olympic Victory,” stated AIBA’s official press release. Prior to his arrival in London for the Games, Usyk and several of his national teammates shaved their heads, leaving a small stripe of hair to channel the custom hairstyle of Ukrainian Kozaks.
Amateur achievements: Usyk won the 2008 European Amateur Boxing Championships at light-heavyweight and the 2011 World Amateur Boxing Championships at heavyweight. In 2006 he took bronze at the European Championships as a middleweight and in 2009 won bronze at the World Amateurs as a heavyweight. He won a gold medal in the heavyweight division at the 2012 London Olympics.
Professional paydays: Usyk turned pro in late 2013, signing a promotional deal with the Klitschko brothers’ K2 Promotions, fighting in the cruiserweight division. On November 9, 2013, Usyk made his professional debut by defeating Mexican Felipe Romero via a fifth-round knockout. He followed up with wins over Epifanio Mendoza (December 12, 2013), Ben Nsafoah (April 26, 2014) and Cesar David Creuz (May 31, 2014), all knockouts. He beat Daniel Bruwer for the Inter-continental WBO Cruiserweight Title, with a technical knockout, in April 2014. He retained his title with a TKO over Danie Venter on December 13, 2014 in Kyiv for a record of 6-0.