Lomachenko vs. Rigondeaux: Fight prediction, preview odds, line, tale of the tape, pick
Saturday’s junior lightweight title bout between Vasyl Lomachenko and Guillermo Rigondeaux is so historically distinctive as the first professional boxing game to feature fighters that have won multiple Olympic gold medals, which putting it into appropriate context hasn’t been simple.
In many ways, it is a Super Bowl of the lower weight classes, including a rising star in Lomachenko (9-1, 7 KOs), that seized world titles in two weight divisions in only his seventh pro fight, along with the eldest Rigondeaux (17-0, 11 KOs), among the best defensive geniuses in history.
You can just as easily call it a showdown for current pound-for-pound supremacy. Heck, Roy Jones Jr. went as far as saying it’s the very best fight on newspaper that expert boxing has ever seen. But for all its ravenous appeal to hard-core fans within the niche world of the sports science, it was difficult to imagine it would connect to a larger audience outside that.
Though Lomachenko is getting close, neither fighter speaks English full-time in interviews and both have styles which are heavier on technical wizardry (Rigondeaux has been frequently deemed boring) compared to bone-crushing knockouts. However, something happened along the way.
To begin with, mythical promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank declared a Student agreement with ESPN earlier this year, which included Lomachenko’s August success over Miguel Marriaga, also secured prime property for the fight (9 p.m. ET) immediately following the Heisman Trophy ceremony.
Second, the fight sold out the 5,500-seat Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York two months ahead of time. The result has been a steady stream of crossover buzz to get a struggle pairing a fighter (Ukraine’s Lomachenko) who might already be the best in the sport after just 10 expert spells against maybe the only person equipped to disarm him (Cuba’s Rigondeaux).
Even the occasionally gruff Arum, who turns 86 on Friday and enters the 30th occasion he’s encouraged at“The World’s Most Famous Arena“ throughout 50-plus years at boxing, had to admit he was pleasantly surprised at how the struggle has been received.
„I was gratified by the interest and how this has captured, but understand that I am involved with boxing, so I love boxing, and that I felt always that this struggle is worthy of the attention that it, in actuality, has obtained,“ Arum told CBS Sports with this week’s“In This Corner“ podcast. „Was I assured of that coming in? No. It’s something which is well merited. It’s not a fluke that it’s getting the attention that it is getting due to those participants involved.
„It is historic. These are two of the greatest amateur fighters in boxing history and the fact that they are going at each other is something really fantastic. I am honored to promote this battle.“
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