LAS VEGAS — One fight can change a lot in boxing, a sport in which it’s not uncommon to fight only twice a year.
If there were — by some impossible miracle — a four-man tournament to determine the best lightweight in the world tomorrow, it’s conceivable that Lomachenko wouldn’t even get an invite.
Lomachenko, of Ukraine, lost his stature in the division back in October at the hands of the 23-year-old Lopez — but as is often the case in boxing, there is fine print in the result.
According to Compubox, Lomachenko threw the following number of punches in the first six frames: 4, 12, 11, 9, 9, 13.
Not surprisingly, Lopez dismissed that explanation as posturing and has basically said he will never grant Lomachenko a rematch because the former champion didn’t give him enough respect before their first encounter.
However, a thorn in the side of that narrative is that when the chips were down and the result was in question going into the 12th round, it was Lopez who rose to the occasion and put an exclamation point on his win.
A second fight would carry drama, history and a real impact on any future negotiations with the other big names at lightweight.
Vasiliy Lomachenko returns to the ring for the first time since losing his lightweight world title unification fight to Teofimo Lopez in October 2020.
Davis is one of boxing’s young and rising stars around the lightweight division.
“I know both of us are going in there with bad intentions,” Barrios told ESPN.
Barrios holds a 4½-inch height advantage against Davis, who is jumping two weight classes from his last fight to compete for the junior welterweight title.
“At the end of the day, he’s in there fighting for what’s mine, for what I have worked so hard for, and he has a very difficult task in front of him when it comes to facing me.