After weeks of negotiations one of the biggest fights of the year has finally been confirmed.
Lightweight world champion Jorge Linares and super featherweight king Vasyl Lomachenko have signed on the dotted line for a potential classic contest. The two men, both considered amongst the pound-for-pound best in the world, will meet at Madison Square Garden on May 12th for the most important fight of both their careers so far.
The bout is all the more anticipated thanks to Top Rank and Golden Boy doing a rare piece of business together, and putting aside traditional promotional rivalries to make one of the most eagerly awaited bouts in the sport. It is a fight which the fans have demanded and one that thankfully is not going to be consigned to the long list of massive fights we never got to see.
Oscar De La Hoya, who promotes the career of Linares, is clearly looking forward to his man having the opportunity to take on one of the best in the business.
We fully understand that Lomachenko is universally seen as the best fighter on the planet, but he’s never faced anyone with the size and skill of Jorge, and I am confident that he will retain his WBA and Ring Magazine world championships."
Linares has grown into one of the premier fighters in the world over the past couple of years with eye catching wins over Luke Campbell and Anthony Crolla on his record in a run which has seen him win 13 fights on the spin. Successive defeats saw the Mexican go back to the drawing board earlier in his career but his form since then has been sensational and he more than deserves a shot against a fighter many believe to be the best in the world.
Lomachenko is widely considered the best pound-for-pound fighter around right now and many believe the storied amateur will have too many skills for his Mexican challenger.
Bob Arum, the head of Top Rank, is looking forward to the fight and clearly believes his fighter is without equal.
This fight marks a significant step forward for one of the greatest fighters we’ve seen, Vasiliy Lomachenko, as he goes up in weight once again to fight the best lightweight in the world, Jorge Linares"
Having lost a narrow world title fight on just his 2nd start in the pro ranks, Lomachenko has gone from strength-to-strength and win against Linares would see the 30-year-old win a world strap in a third weight division in just his 12th fight.
Wow.
"Hi-Tech" as Lomachenko is known to the fans has dazzled the boxing public with his angles and footwork likened to some of the greatest of all time, and the bookmakers certainly favour the man stepping up in weight to triumph. The last four fighters on the record of the double Olympic Champion have all been forced to quit which tells it's own story and although Linares is going to be the toughest test yet, few are giving the world-class Mexican a chance in the Big Apple.
This is a fight not to be missed.
