Lomachenko’s arrival at the LAX airport in LA a couple of days ago marked his arrival at the professional scene. He is expected make a splash with his debut as he is jumping at the deep end choosing to fight for 10 rounds in his first fight. He will fight Jose Luis Ramirez on Oct.12, 2013 on the under card of Juan Manuel Marquez and Timothy Bradley.
Ramirez is ranked at featherweight and his ranking is targeted by Vasyl who plans to fight for a championship on his second fight. That is if he wins his debut and he may not need 10 rounds to do it although he needs the experience.
Jose Luis Ramirez should not be confused with the retired Mexican double World Lightweight Champion by the same name. This one has a record of 25-3, 15 KO and he is ranked No.7 by the WBO. He is the same age as Lomachenko and this will be a classic amateur vs. pro clash at the pro home field.
Vasyl Lomachenko has only one loss in his stellar amateur career and it has been avenged. He cried like the child he was when he lost to Albert Selimov for the World gold in 2007 and received his only silver medal in a golden collection. There was nothing childish in the way he handled the “rematch” with his nemesis the following year, eliminating him from the 2008 Olympics. He has dominated ever since and the amateur code is a treacherous ground where the computer scoring point system was a tool of politics (the computer scoring system is being scrapped and will be replaced by traditional judges).
Loma has had his 6 round fight streak at WSB and he has fought very tough opposition on this platform. He is coming prepared and he brings a special combination of skill and craft to the pro ranks. Very few boxers have speed and power, technique and aggression, strength and endurance in a versatile package. Usually top amateurs need several years to adjust to the pro ranks and advance to high level, for Vasyl this period will be 10 rounds or less.
Vasyl Anatoliyovich Lomachenko is not a name that can be remembered or even pronounced easily by fans. He is referred to as Loma and his nick name is “Hi-tech”. We will wait and see what ring name sticks to him. “Hi-tech” sounds right although there is nothing mechanical or robotic about him.
Lomachenko should have no trouble joining the army of ex-amateurs ruling the pro-ranks today. The Klitschkos, Andre Ward, Floyd Mayweather, Gennady Golovkin, Sergey Kovalev, Guillermo Rigondeaux, Youriorkis Gamboa, Amir Khan, Alexander Povetkin, etc. were all decorated amateurs who brought their skills to prize fighting.
Amateur boxing is the foundation of boxing and it will secure the future of boxing as well. Regardless of the situation in the pro industry, there will always be good amateurs lurking in the deep out of sight that will surface like sharks at the smell of blood.