LONDON (9 May, 2018) – Pound-for-pound ace Vasyl Lomachenko says he accepted the challenge to face lightweight king Jorge Linares in “less than two seconds”.

Former two-weight world champion Lomachenko will take on WBA and Ring Magazine lightweight world champion Linares in one of boxing’s most eagerly anticipated clashes of the year this Saturday night, live and exclusive on BoxNation.

Taking place at the iconic Madison Square Garden, the 30-year-old Ukrainian will be moving up to lightweight and says the decision to take on the much respected Linares came very easy for him.

“I wanted to go up to the next weight category, 135 pounds, and fight only champions. Jorge Linares was available for this moment. That’s why I wanted a fight with him. I was asked if I wanted to fight Linares. It took me less than two seconds to accept the challenge,” said Lomachenko.

“For me, it’s a big challenge because before this fight, I fought against guys who were the same size or a little bit smaller than me. Now, I want to feel the way [Guillermo] Rigondeaux felt when he fought me.

“He was smaller than I at that point. I am going to be smaller than my opponents now. I want to show people it’s not a big problem, that five pounds is not too big of a difference,” he said.

Following a glittering amateur career, winning two consecutive Olympic gold medals along the way, Lomachenko will now be looking to become a three-weight world champion this weekend.

Despite having only 11 fights as a professional his superior talent has shone through, often forcing his big-talking opponents to quit on their stools.

The experienced Linares, who has a record of 44 wins with 27 KOs and just 3 defeats, has also tried to get under his opponents skin, with Lomachenko calling on him to show up at the press conference following the fight, as looks to continue building his legacy.

“I like it [his trash talking]. Before the fight, all boxers talk trash, but after the fight, nobody comes to the press conference. After this fight, I want to see Jorge Linares at the press conference, and I want to hear what he has to say,” Lomachenko said.

“This fight is the next step in my boxing history. We’re talking about my career. I built a ladder, and when I finish my boxing career, I want my ladder to be very strong and long,” he said.

Lomachenko v Linares will be live and exclusive on BoxNation from Saturday midnight.

Sky Customer Free Registration Offer: BoxNation subscription is £12 per month with free registration (normally £8) for Sky TV subscribers using offer code: CHAMPIONS.

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About BoxNation

BoxNation, the Channel of Champions and proud partner of Rainham Steel, is the UK’s first dedicated boxing channel. From £12* per month with no minimum term customers can enjoy great value live and exclusive fights, classic fight footage, magazine shows and interviews with current and former fighters.

Previous highlights have included Haye vs Chisora, Mayweather vs Maidana, Saunders vs Eubank Jr and Canelo vs Golovkin.

The channel is available on Sky (Ch.427), Freeview (Ch.255), Virgin (Ch.546), TalkTalk (Ch.415), TV Player, online at watch.boxnation.com and via apps (ios, Android, Amazon, Apple TV). BoxNation is also available in high definition on Sky (Ch. 490), at no extra cost to Sky TV subscribers, providing they are already HD enabled.

Available on selected internet-connected Freeview products only, subject to coverage. Visit freeview.co.uk/availability.

BoxNation is also available to commercial premises (inc. pubs, clubs and casino’s) in the UK and Ireland, for more information on a commercial subscription please call 0844 842 7700.

For more information visit www.boxnation.com

*Plus £8 registration fee for Sky TV customers

On Saturday, May 26, the fast-tracking of the “Argentinean Lomachenko,” two-time Olympian Alberto “Impacto” Melian (2-0, 2 KOs), will continue in Buenos Aires, when he takes on his undefeated countryman Sergio Sosa (10-0, 3 KOs) for the IBF Latino Super Bantamweight Championship.

Presented by Sampson Boxing, Melian vs. Sosa will headline a night of boxing entitled “Triple Impact on Paternal” that will be televised live on TyC Sports and VTV Uruguay (available in HD) for all of Latin America, The United States and the Caribbean.

After a distinguished amateur career and two Olympic appearances, 28-year-old Melian is off to a sensational start as a professional. In his debut, he knocked out the former world title contender Diego Ricardo Santillan (who entered the ring at 23-2) in the fifth round. In his second contest, Melian won the Argentine Super Bantamweight Championship with an eight-round TKO over Julian Aristule (32-8, 16 KOs).

A victory over Sosa will mean his first international championship and bring him one step closer to the world stage.

“Alberto Melian is a star on the rise in boxing,” said his promoter, Sampson Lewkowicz. “Because of his amateur and Olympic experience and his incredible skills, there is no need to take it slow. He is already one of the world’s best 122-lb fighters. He will continue to climb with every fight and should be ready for a world championship fight by next year.”

The co-main event will feature Uruguay’s Caril “El Ratón” Herrera (39-2, 23 KOs) taking on Argentina’s Roman “220 Volts” Reynoso (20-2-2, 9 KOs) in what promises to become a thrilling South American duel. Also appearing on the card will be former Olympian Alberto “Beto” Palmetta (7-1, 3 KOs) in an eight-round welterweight bout against fellow Argentinean Nahuel “El Perfecto” Galessi (12-4-1, 7 KOs).

Starting at 8:20 p.m. (7:20 EST) on TyC Sports, the new edition of “Boxeo de Primera Promocional,” will be begin with an amateur boxing showcase, followed by the professional fights.
About Sampson Boxing
After a very successful run as a matchmaker and adviser, Sampson Lewkowicz switched over to the promotional side of professional boxing in January 2008.

Sampson Boxing has grown into one of the world’s most prestigious promotional firms, representing many of the world’s best fighters and most promising young contenders.

Sampson Boxing has promotional partners all over North and South America, Africa, Asia, New Zealand, Australia, Europe and Central America and Sampson Boxing events have been televised on such premiere networks as HBO, Showtime, ESPN, VS. and several international networks.

One time GB amateur standout Sam Maxwell has no cause to fear any of the runners or riders in Britain’s white hot super-lightweight division.

Five years ago, the MTK managed Merseysider twice dipped between the ropes to confront the Ukraine’s formidable dual Olympic champion Vasyl Lomachenko over five rounds and remained vertical throughout.

Now unbeaten in six as a pro, the straight-shooting stylist is chasing ‘Loma’s’ tail in the commercial code.

You were born in Hackney, east London before moving to Prescot (eight miles east of Liverpool city centre)when you were eight. Must’ve been tough growing up on Merseyside with a Cockney accent.
Not really. I grew up in a good area surrounded by the right people. When you’re young you have to prove yourself but I was basically a mellow kid, a bit of a nerd. From 11, I was always training at the boxing gym rather than out on the streets.

Remind us of your amateur credentials.
I had about 150 bouts and won around 120. In addition to my (2014) Commonwealth Games bronze, I won the National Universities gold, two Senior ABAs and a British title, beating (2016 GB Olympian)Joey Cordina in the final. I also beat (undefeated pros) Josh Kelly and Josh Leather.

I spent five years on the Team GB set-up in Sheffield. I travelled all around the world, Russia, Ukraine, Mexico, Morocco, Algeria, Brazil and made some amazing friends who I still communicate with on a daily basis.

At the 2012 Olympic qualifiers, I beat the number one seed Albert Selimov from Russia – the only man to defeat Vasyl Lomachenko in almost 400 amateur bouts – but then lost to the Turk in Turkey. That was gutting. I also had 13 bouts in the WSB during two seasons with the GB Lionhearts and won about half of them.

It was in the World Series of Boxing that you twice swapped leather with a certain V.Lomachenko from the Ukraine!
Yeah. First fight I was a bit overwhelmed. I was supposed to fight someone else but there was a ‘pull out’ and ‘Loma’ was thrown on me at short notice. I did much better second time and it was a great experience. I’ve always got that on my CV.

He’s just an unbelievable talent; his feints, his angles, his intelligence. He’s always a few steps ahead of you, knows your movements before you do. He just destroys opponents mentally. That’s why they all ‘No Mas’!

I went 10 rounds with him and got paid about 400 quid for the two fights combined. You could put a good few noughts on the end of that if we ever meet in the pros. I definitely wanna make it a trilogy (laughs)!

You’ve made a storming start to your pro career since debuting in October 2016, winning six straight with five victims failing to finish.
The WSB acclimatizes you to fighting five rounds at a high pace against class opposition. You learn to save your energy, use the jab, avoid the heads.

I know from the pads that I have the power to hurt anyone with my long jab and back hand. I stopped barely a handful in the amateurs. However, it’s very hard to land a clean strong shot against the top amateurs whereas, in the pros, almost every shot connects with power. George (Vaughan, his veteran coach)has taught me not to be so bouncy and awkward. He’s really got me believing in myself.

You’re already 29 so might be required to make your move quicker than most. What’s the SP?
I’m with a great promoter in Frank Warren. Each fight his team ensure I face a better opponent yet I’m dealing with them and getting a bit more hype each time.

The domestic light-welter division is littered with talent like Josh Taylor who beat me in the (2014) Commonwealth Games semis plus Jack Catterall, Tyrone Nurse, Ohara Davies, Glenn Foot and Josh Leather. I believe I’m a very good boxer and a stiff puncher myself. There’s loads of entertaining fights to be made down the line.

There’s no need to rush but it’s great to see so many of my Team GB squad mates doing so well and fighting for titles before they’ve reached ten pro fights. Hopefully, it won’t be long before I’m joining them. I rate myself just as highly.

What can the packed Belfast crowd expect to see from Sam Maxwell on Saturday night?
The Irish fans are amazing so it’s crucial I look good before such a knowledgeable crowd. Hopefully, they’ll see a technically sound boxer, with a tight guard, good feet, a sharp jab and good power in my straight right hand.

I was in the ExCel (Arena) for the London Olympics when Katie Taylor was boxing and it was just unreal, a sea of green. Frampton is their favourite star so hopefully I can get on before him and really savour the atmosphere. I can’t wait.

I always train to do the rounds but if I clip ‘em clean and see they’re hurt, I won’t back off. My fight’s scheduled for six so hopefully I can showcase my skills, get four good rounds under my belt to bank for later in my career, then put ‘em away in style in the fifth or sixth.

Maxwell fights on a huge night of boxing at the SSE Arena in Belfast topped by the WBO Interim Featherweight World Title clash between two-weight Word Champion Carl Frampton MBE and four-weight World Champion Nonito Donaire.

WBO Bantamweight Champion of the World Zolani Tete also features as he makes the second defence of his title against former three-time World Champion Omar Andres Narvaez after his Word recording-breaking KO win at the SSE Arena in November.

WBO European Champion Conrad Cummings and Irish champion Luke Keeler go toe to toe in what promises to be an all-action Middleweight affair while Tyrone McKenna and Light-Welterweight rival Anthony Upton clash in an exciting all-Belfast match-up; with Belfast’s Marco McCullough keeping busy after Jono Carroll’s injury forced him to pull out of their IBF Intercontinental showdown.

Undefeated prospects David Oliver Joyce, Steven Ward, Lewis Crocker, Tyrone McCullagh, Troy Williamson, Ryan Hatton and Alex Dickinson complete an unmissable card.

A very limited number of tickets for Frampton v Donaire are available to purchase from the SSE Arena Belfast Box Office, www.ssearenabelfast.com and 0044(0)28 9073 9074. Prices range from £40 (tier) to £400 (inner-ring hospitality).

LONDON (13 April, 2018) – BoxNation have renewed their long-standing output deal with promoters Top Rank which will see the highly anticipated world title showdown between pound-for-pound star Vasyl Lomachenko and WBA lightweight champion Jorge Linares screened live and exclusive.

The May 12th clash will see Ukrainian star Lomachenko move up to the 135-pound weight division as he looks to become a three-weight world champion in only his 12th outing as a professional.

However, he faces one of boxing’s very best in Venezuelan hotshot Linares who is riding a 13-bout unbeaten streak dating back to 2012 and will be looking to prove to 30-year-old Lomachenko that he has bitten off more than he can chew with his move up.

“This is the fight that boxing fans wanted. This will be a super fight between two of the best champions,” Linares said. “Not only will I demonstrate why I’m the best lightweight in the world, but also that I’m one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. I have the speed, skill and power to win this battle. This May 12, Vasiliy Lomachenko will bow down to ‘King’ Jorge.”

Taking place at the iconic Madison Square Garden, “Hi-Tech” Lomachenko can’t wait to grace the famous arena.

“We are very excited about the fight. It should be a great one. Fans from around the world have been waiting for Jorge and me to fight,” Lomachenko said. “We appreciate the work Top Rank did to put this fight together, and thanks to the television networks that helped make it happen. I am looking forward to May 12 in New York to make my debut in the big arena at Madison Square Garden.”

In addition to Lomachenko v Linares, BoxNation have added a further two fights to an already action packed schedule as part of the Top Rank deal with rising world champion Jessie Magdaleno defending his WBO super-bantamweight title against Isaac Dogboe.

Both men will go into the fight on April 28th unbeaten with only one of them set to emerge with their record intact.

Following that on June 9th live and exclusive from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas one of the very best fighters on the planet Terence Crawford will be aiming to win his first world title at welterweight as he takes on Manny Pacquiao conqueror Jeff Horn.

Horn’s WBO welterweight world championship belt will be on the line when he makes his US debut against the formidable Crawford, with the American adamant he will be victorious.

“I cannot wait to get back in the ring on June 9 and win the WBO welterweight championship,” Crawford said. “Jeff Horn and his team better be ready because they are going to see a bigger, stronger, and more powerful Terence Crawford. I am going home with that belt.”

Australian Horn may be going into the bout as an underdog in their summer sizzler but he is undefeated and used to upsetting the odds as his 2017 win over Pacquiao demonstrated.

Jim McMunn, BoxNation Managing Director, said: “BoxNation are delighted to renew our long-standing output deal with Top Rank. Top Rank continues to produce world class boxing cards as the additions to our thrilling upcoming schedule demonstrates. Vasyl Lomachenko v Jorge Linares is one of the most eagerly anticipated fights this year and will be one that will have BoxNation subscribers glued to their screens on May 12th. Pound-for-pound star Terence Crawford will be looking to show why he is so highly regarded when he challenges Manny Pacquiao’s conqueror Jeff Horn for the WBO welterweight world title on June 9th. And later this month on April 28th two undefeated super-bantamweights will battle it out as Jessie Magdaleno defends his WBO title against Ghana’s Isaac Dogboe.”

BoxNation is available on Sky/Freeview/Virgin/TalkTalk/EE/Apple TV/ online at watch.boxnation.com, via apps (iOS, Android, Amazon) and TV Player for just £12 a month. Buy now at boxnation.com.

– ENDS –

About BoxNation

BoxNation, the Channel of Champions and proud partner of Rainham Steel, is the UK’s first dedicated boxing channel. From £12* per month with no minimum term customers can enjoy great value live and exclusive fights, classic fight footage, magazine shows and interviews with current and former fighters.

Previous highlights have included Haye vs Chisora, Mayweather vs Maidana, Saunders vs Eubank Jr and Canelo vs Golovkin.

The channel is available on Sky (Ch.437 – changing to Ch.427 on 1 May 2018), Freeview (Ch.255), Virgin (Ch.546), TalkTalk (Ch.415), TV Player, online at watch.boxnation.com and via apps (ios, Android, Amazon, Apple TV). BoxNation is also available in high definition on Sky (Ch. 490), at no extra cost to Sky TV subscribers, providing they are already HD enabled.

Available on selected internet-connected Freeview products only, subject to coverage. Visit freeview.co.uk/availability.

BoxNation is also available to commercial premises (inc. pubs, clubs and casino’s) in the UK and Ireland, for more information on a commercial subscription please call 0844 842 7700.

For more information visit www.boxnation.com

*Plus £8 registration fee for Sky TV customers

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, the undercard for the May 12th showdown between lightweight champion Jorge Linares and Vasily Lomachenko has been finalized.

Welterweight Carlos Adames will take on Alejandro Barrera.

Two-time Irish Olympian Michael Conlan (6-0, 5 KOs), with a large fan following in New York’s Irish community, will face Ibon Larrinaga (10-1, 2 KOs), of Spain, in an eight-round featherweight fight.

Las Vegas lightweight Teofimo Lopez Jr. (8-0, 6 KOs), who was on the 2016 Honduras Olympic team representing the home country of his parents and who has emerged as one of the best prospects in boxing, will face Vitor Jones Freitas, of Brazil, in an eight-round fight. Jones Freitas (14-1, 8 KOs) is the nephew of Brazilian legend and former junior lightweight and lightweight world titleholder Acelino “Popo” Freitas.

Lightweight Jamel Herring (16-2, 9 KOs), of Coram, New York, a 2012 U.S. Olympian and a former U.S. Marine who served two tours of duty in Iraq, will face Juan Pablo Sanchez (30-15, 14 KOs), of Mexico, in an eight-round bout. The fight will be the first for Herring, who is trained by McIntyre and friends with Crawford, since signing with Top Rank.

Junior welterweight Fazliddin Gaibnazarov (3-0, 1 KO), who won Olympic gold in 2016 for Uzbekistan, will face Jesus Silveyra (8-5-2, 3 KOs), of Mexico, in an eight-round fight. Gaibnazarov will be fighting for the first time since a shoulder injury sidelined him in September.

Lightweight Mikaela Mayer (4-0, 3 KOs), a 2016 U.S. Olympian from Los Angeles, will face Baby Nansen (6-2-1, 0 KOs), of New Zealand, in her first scheduled six-round fight. Mayer needed only 35 seconds to notch a first-round knockout of Maria Semertzoglou in her last fight on March 10 on the Oscar Valdez-Scott Quigg undercard.

Lightweight world champion Jorge Linares will not have Ismael Salas in his corner when he faces Vasyl Lomachenko on May 12 at Madison Square Garden, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

Salas, however, is in London training one of his other top fighters, former heavyweight titleholder David Haye, for his rematch with Tony Bellew on May 5 at the O2 Arena in London.

Taking the reigns as head trainer is Carlos Linares, Jorge’s younger brother, who has been part of his team for years. Jorge Linares also will have other regulars from his team with him, including cutman and assistant trainer Rudy Hernandez and strength and conditioning coach Jorge Capetillo.

“We did not leave Salas and Salas did not leave me,” Linares said through interpreter Robert Diaz, the matchmaker for his promoter, Golden Boy Promotions. “It was just a scheduling conflict. It was a conflict that made it difficult for us to be together for this fight. I understand. I’m not upset about it at all. I have all his advice and teachings that I need to do. It’s always there in spirit, and we can talk over the phone [during training camp]. We still communicate. This is not a breakup.”

“Linares is a very experienced fighter,” Diaz said. “Salas has been good for him, but Jorge knows what to do for this fight, and he is very motivated. He knows how important this fight with Lomachenko is. But this is also a fight Jorge and I have been talking about for two years. Jorge picked Lomachenko to fight. He told [Golden Boy CEO] Oscar [De La Hoya] that he wanted the biggest fight, and this is it.”

“Lomachenko could have picked an easier fight,” Linares said. “But he wants to fight the best. He wants the crown. I respect Lomachenko, and I am very motivated for this fight. Like people say, I also consider him the pound-for-pound best in boxing. That’s what motivates me. I am so thankful to my team for getting me this fight. This is what I have been working for.

“I know I have to work hard, but at the same time, Lomachenko is coming up in weight. He’s the challenger and I am the champion. My thing is I am going to remain the champion after this fight and show people how good I am. This is what I have always wanted, and I am grateful to ESPN, [Lomachenko promoter] Top Rank and Lomachenko for this opportunity to show how good I am.”

Michael Conlan has been added to the May 12th Jorge Linares – Vasyl Lomachenko card at Madison Square Garden, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com

“Hopefully, we’ll be able to get a fight with someone undefeated because I want to step up again and show what I can do,” Conlan said. “It felt great to be in there against Berna. The fans turned out and the atmosphere was simply amazing. I wish the fight had gone on longer, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.”

“My trainer, Adam Booth, has brought back what I’m good at, which is using my boxing skills to break opponents down rather than steam in there and try to take them out quickly,” Conlan said. “It was a two-day party afterwards. I had a great time but then it was straight back in the gym and preparing for the next one. There are talks about fighting in Belfast in the summer and this fight will set that up.”

NEW YORK (March 21, 2018) – In a battle of two of the world’s pound-for-pound best, JORGE “El Niño de Oro” LINARES will defend his World Boxing Association (WBA) and Ring Magazine Lightweight titles against VASILIY “Hi-Tech” LOMACHENKO on Saturday, May 12, at “The World’s Most Famous Arena”, Madison Square Garden. Linares vs. Lomachenko will be televised live and exclusively at 8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN Deportes and stream live on the ESPN App at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Golden Boy Promotions, Teiken Promotions, and Madison Square Garden, tickets will go on sale to the general public at 12 p.m. EST on Friday, March 23. Priced at $506, $406, $306, $206, $106, and $56,including facility fees,tickets can be purchased at the Madison Square Garden Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster charge by phone (866-858-0008), and online at ticketmaster.com and MSG.com.

“Jorge has established himself as the world’s best lightweight by taking on any and all comers over his storied career, but a win on May 12 would put him on an entirely different level,” said Oscar De La Hoya, Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy Promotions. “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. As this fight makes clear, I’m 100 percent committed to giving fans the fights they want to see and will work with anyone to accomplish that goal.”

“This is the fight that boxing fans wanted. This will be a super fight between two of the best champions,” Linares said. “Not only will I demonstrate why I’m the best lightweight in the world, but also that I’m one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. I have the speed, skill and power to win this battle. This May 12, Vasiliy Lomachenko will bow down to ‘King’ Jorge.”

“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,” said Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum, founder and CEO of Top Rank. “I want to thank everyone involved for making this happen, particularly Peter Nelson of HBO and the Golden Boy team, whose cooperation made this fight possible. This demonstrates that promoters and networks, when they work together for the good of everyone, can accomplish so very much.”

“We are very excited about the fight. It should be a great one. Fans from around the world have been waiting for Jorge and me to fight,” Lomachenko said. “We appreciate the work Top Rank did to put this fight together, and thanks to the television networks that helped make it happen. I am looking forward to May 12 in New York to make my debut in the big arena at Madison Square Garden.”

“Linares and Lomachenko are two of the world’s best fighters,” said Burke Magnus, ESPN’s Executive Vice President of Programming and Scheduling. “This is a prime example of the highest quality fights that will air exclusively on ESPN’s platforms through the combination of Top Rank and ESPN.”

Linares (44-3, 27 KOs), a 15-year pro from Barinas, Venezuela, is a three-weight world champion who is riding a 13-bout unbeaten streak dating back to 2012. He captured his first world title in 2007, when he scored a 10th-round stoppage over Oscar Larios to win the vacant WBC Featherweight crown. He defended that title once before moving up in weight, winning the vacant WBA Super Featherweight title on November 28, 2008, with a fifth-round TKO over Whyber Garcia.

Three stoppage defeats from 2009-2012 halted Linares’ momentum, but he has since re-established his place among the sport’s very best. He is a boxing globetrotter, as he won the WBC Lightweight world title in 2014 against Javier Prieto in Japan, and defended it against Kevin Mitchell in England and Ivan Cano in Venezuela.

After vacating the WBC Lightweight title due to injury, Linares snatched the WBA Lightweight title by traveling to enemy territory in Manchester, England, and earning a unanimous decision over Anthony Crolla on September 24, 2016. Six months later, he returned to Manchester and won a near-shutout decision over Crolla in their rematch. He last fought on January 27, scoring a wide unanimous decision win over Mercito Gesta at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif.

Lomachenko has already conquered the featherweight and super featherweight divisions as a professional. Now, the two-time Olympic gold medalist is ready to put the lightweight division on notice. From Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, Ukraine, Lomachenko has won seven consecutive fights by stoppage, including four consecutive corner stoppages. Last December, he forced fellow two-time Olympic gold medalist Guillermo Rigondeaux to bow out following the sixth round. After the fight, Lomachenko quipped that his new nickname should be ‘No Mas-chenko.’ The Rigondeaux fight capped a 2017 in which Lomachenko earned ‘Fighter of the Year’ honors from ESPN and the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). He also scored TKO victories over Jason Sosa and Miguel Marriaga that year, forcing corner stoppages in fights he was dominating.

The ‘No Mas-chenko’ legend began on November 26, 2016, when the previously unbeaten Nicholas Walters stayed on his stool following the seventh round. Lomachenko captured the World Boxing Organization (WBO) Super Featherweight title earlier that year with a one-punch, fifth-round knockout of Roman Martinez.

Lomachenko, who went an astonishing 396-1 in the amateur ranks, tied a boxing record by winning a world title in his third pro bout. On June 21, 2014, he defeated Gary Russell, Jr. for the vacant WBO Featherweight title, equaling the mark set by Thailand’s Saensak Muangsurin, who won the WBC Super Lightweight crown on July 15, 1975, with a third-round knockout of Spain’s Perico Fernandez.

For more information visit: www.toprank.com, www.espn.com/boxing, www.goldenboypromotions.com; Facebook facebook.com/trboxing, facebook.com/trboxeo, facebook.com/espndeportes; https://www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing/ Twitter twitter.com/trboxing, twitter.com/trboxeo, https://twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, @
For more information visit: www.toprank.com, www.espn.com/boxing, www.goldenboypromotions.com; Facebook facebook.com/trboxing, facebook.com/trboxeo, facebook.com/espndeportes; https://www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing/ Twitter twitter.com/trboxing, twitter.com/trboxeo, https://twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, @ESPN@ESPNBoxeo.
@ESPNBoxeo.

Use the hashtag #LinaresLoma to join the conversation on social media.

This past Saturday, March 17, the “Argentinean Lomachenko,” two-time Olympian Alberto “Impacto” Melian, fought for and won his first professional title in only his second professional fight.

Fighting at the Club Social y Deportivo Comercio in his hometown of Villa Dolores, Cordoba, Argentina, Melian (2-0, 2 KOs) captured the Argentine Super Bantamweight Championship with an eighth-round TKO over countryman Julian Aristule (32-9, 16 KOs).

Fighting on a show entitled “Night of the Olympians,” televised live on TyC Sports and VTV Uruguay and presented by Sampson Boxing in partnership with Tello Box and JEB Boxing, Melian was down for the first time in his young career in the first round, but came back to floor Aristule in the fifth, sixth and seventh rounds before his corner threw the towel at 0:15 of the eighth.

The victory was a history-making first for the respected Argentina (FAB), as no fighter had ever taken one of their titles in just his second fight as a professional.

“Alberto was sensational in going eight rounds for the first time,” said his promoter, Sampson Lewkowicz. “After a flash knockdown in the first, he took over and showed excellent stamina while pounding his opponent the entire fight. He will be back on May 26 and I will have a big announcement coming soon.”
About Sampson Boxing
After a very successful run as a matchmaker and adviser, Sampson Lewkowicz switched over to the promotional side of professional boxing in January 2008.

Sampson Boxing has grown into one of the world’s most prestigious promotional firms, representing many of the world’s best fighters and most promising young contenders.

Sampson Boxing has promotional partners all over North and South America, Africa, Asia, New Zealand, Australia, Europe and Central America and Sampson Boxing events have been televised on such premiere networks as HBO, Showtime, ESPN, VS. and several international networks.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, the much anticipated lightweight championship bout between Jorge Linares and Vasyl Lomachenko will happen on May 12th at Madison Square Garden.

The fight will be televised at 8 PM ET. The time of the bout was a sticking point as Golden Boy Promotions (Linares promoter) has the replay of the previous week Camelo Alvarez – Gennady Golovkin rematch plus a live fight featuring Sadam Ali scheduled for 10 PM that night on HBO, and the promoter did not want to promote against one of it’s fights on a different network.

After negotiating, ESPN agreed to move the time up for the Linares – Lomachenko bout to satisfy all parties.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com is reporting that a proposed lightweight title bout between Jorge Linares and Vasyl Lomachenko is not not imminent due to a proposed May 12 day not being right for Linares promoter Golden Boy Promotions.

Top Rank planned to stage the fight as the main event of an ESPN card on May 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York. However, Golden Boy said that date is unacceptable because it has an HBO event that night — the probable return of junior middleweight world titleholder Sadam Ali for his first defense since sending Miguel Cotto into retirement in December, along with the replay of the May 5 pay-per-view rematch between middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez.

According to Top Rank President Todd duBoef, he spoke to Honda and Teiken executive Akemi Irie about the date, and they settled on May 12.

“Akemi said May 12, fine, great,” duBoef said. “I said, ‘Let me know what you need for the fight. Mr. Honda came with a number; I gave him a counteroffer. Then he came back to me and said, ‘Can you do it for this number?’ And I said, ‘For you, yes, I can.’ He said give me [last weekend] to make sure we’re good. He calls me on Monday night, and he says we’re all good, please have somebody from Top Rank call Golden Boy and do the details on travel, tickets, the minutia. The first thing we resolved, before the money, was the date because of the sensitivity to Linares’ health.

“First I heard that there was a problem with May 12 was after [Top Rank vice president] Carl [Moretti] had a conversation about it with [Golden Boy president] Eric Gomez on Tuesday. Mr. Honda called me about it apologizing and very upset. He said they knew May 12 from the beginning, and he was very disappointed.”

“That’s the date held by ESPN, and I’m not going to drag over Jorge Linares,” duBoef said. “Lomachenko is fighting May 12 on ESPN, and we’d like for him to fight Linares. So would Mr. Honda and Linares.”

“Golden Boy has also been talking to us for quite a while about a live fight on May 12,” HBO Sports spokesman Ray Stallone told ESPN in a statement. “HBO has not received any offer on a Linares-Lomachenko fight yet. We look forward to receiving one — since we do have a first/last [contractual option] with Jorge Linares and have interest in the fight. We are not standing in the way of anything.”

“We told Mr. Honda no problem, try to get a deal done, but we can’t do the fight a week before the pay-per-view or the week after because we’re doing an HBO event,” Gomez said. “But I have a solution. If Arum is committed to Madison Square Garden and it has to be May 12, HBO would buy the fight. I spoke to Peter Nelson and he will absolutely buy the fight and based on the numbers Honda gave us, HBO will pay more. Now that’s a solution. We’re flexible. We can do it on HBO. If Arum is committed to ESPN then let’s pick another date.”

“It’s not in consideration for me to go on HBO,” he said. “We have an agreement with Mr. Honda and he was telling Golden Boy that we all believe the best place for this fight is on ESPN, a sports platform with the most amount of homes and the best possible viewership. Coming off nearly 2 million viewers for the Rigondeaux fight we are going to keep the momentum going regardless of if it’s Linares or the winner of Friday night’s fight.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, talks have began for a possible showdown between junior lightweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko and Jorge Linares.

“I’ve been talking to Mr. Honda for a month about the possibility of Linares-Lomachenko,” Lomachenko promoter Bob

Arum said. “But I had to wait for Linares to fight on Saturday night and see how things turned out. Well, the kid won. Now we can discuss terms for the fight. I’m waiting to hear back from Honda.

“Knowing Honda, he’ll probably ask for the terms he wants and we’ll work that out, and then he would have me contact Golden Boy for the provision of services contract and to work out the other stuff, like tickets, travel, those details. So far in my conversations with Honda, everything is proceeding nicely, so we’ll see.”

Arum said, according to Honda, it is a fight Linares is very interested in — and the same goes for Lomachenko and his manager, Egis Klimas.

“It’s being worked on for the next fight,” Arum said. “We want to make sure that Linares is OK and ready to go. He had a little cut [against Gesta] and he hurt his hand a little bit, so we need to make sure he’s fine. Depending on how he feels, the fight will be either April 28 or May 12. Linares is a tremendous fighter. He’s a guy with an excellent résumé and a good name.

“I’ve been communicating with Lomachenko through Egis and they are both very enthusiastic to do that fight, as is Lomachenko’s father [trainer Anatoly Lomachenko]. I haven’t talked to Golden Boy yet, but I have talked to Honda and Honda doesn’t mess around. His kid wants the fight and we want the fight.”

“We’re ready,” Linares promoter Oscar De La Hoya said. “Lomachenko versus Linares is the fight to make, so we have to make it. For 2018, our goal is to always make the best fights and that’s actually one of them out of many, so Bob Arum, give me a call.”

De La Hoya reiterated his view on Monday, telling ESPN, “I want Linares to fight Lomachenko next and if Bob Arum is serious about making the fight, then I’ll wait for his offer and see what it is. But that’s the fight we want next for Linares. That’s the fight the fans want to watch and I’m all for it.”

“Golden Boy will not stand in the way of any fight,” De La Hoya said. “For my fighters, I’m going to try to make the most money for them. If Bob Arum is going to come with an offer and I feel I can beat it, he should give me an opportunity to do so whether the fight is on HBO or ESPN. But I want to make the most money for my fighters. We are not going to get in the way of this fight being made.”

18
The Boxing Writers Association of America is proud to announce that its Sugar Ray Robinson 2017 Fighter of the Year is Vasily “Hi-Tech” Lomachenko, who made history in becoming the first Ukrainian to earn that distinction in the 80-year history of the award.

Lomachenko (10-1, 8 knockouts) earned the BWAA’s coveted prize by beating solid contenders Jason Sosa and Miguel Marriaga in 2017, then closing the year by making two-time Olympic gold medalist Guillermo Rigondeaux quit after six rounds.

“Hi-Tech” won out over Terence Crawford, Anthony Joshua, Mikey Garcia and Thailand star Srisaket Sor Rungvisai.

Lomachenko’s selection is the crowning moment for Team Lomachenko, which won a rare BWAA triple crown by winning the BWAA’s fighter, trainer and manager of the year awards for 2017. The last trio to complete the BWAA’s triple crown was in 1992, when Riddick Bowe was the BWAA FOY, the late renowned Eddie Futch was Trainer of the Year and Rock Newman was Manager of the Year.

For the first time ever, the BWAA announced its first 2017 Christy Martin Female Fighter of the Year, Cecilia Braekhus, who won over a worthy class that included Jessica Chavez, Naoko Fujioka, Mariana Juarez, Amanda Serrano, Claressa Shields and Katie Taylor.

The 2017 Muhammad Ali – Joe Frazier Fight of the Year was an obvious choice, with the epic Showtime heavyweight championship fight between Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko in April 2017 before 90,000 at Wembley Stadium. That choice outdistanced David Benavidez-Ronald Gavril, James DeGale-Badou Jack, Miguel Roman-Orlando Salido and Srisaket Sor Rungvisai-Roman Gonzalez I.

The second winner of Team Lomachenko’s BWAA triple crown is Loma’s father, Anatoly Lomachenko, who was voted the BWAA’s 2017 Eddie Futch Trainer of the Year. The finalists in that category included Derrick James, Brian McIntyre, Andre Rozier and Abel Sanchez.

For the second-straight year and completing Team Lomachenko trifecta is the BWAA’s 2017 Cus D’Amato Manager of the Year Egis Klimas, in a category that included Keith Connolly and Frank Espinoza.

For the second time in three years, Lou DiBella is a BWAA award winner—but this year DiBella finally breaks a spell receiving his first voted-on award by taking the 2017 Sam Taub trophy for outstanding achievement in broadcast journalism. The finalists there included Brian Custer, Stephen Espinoza, Roy Jones and Mauro Ranallo.

Daniel Franco’s saga in 2017 has been well documented. The California featherweight recovered from a serious brain injury after a fight in June and continues to make great progress. The BWAA is honored to name Franco as the 2017 Bill Crawford Courage Award winner. The other distinguished candidates in this category were Kathy Duva, Jose Santa Cruz, Claressa Shields and Samuel Teah.

The BWAA is also proud to announce Dr. Margaret Goodman as the 2017 Barney Nagler Long & Meritorious Award. This is the second BWAA award for Dr. Goodman, who received the Honesty and Integrity Award in 2005. The honorable mentions in this category included the BWAA’s indispensable Gina Andriolo, punchstat guru Bob Canobbio, boxing journalist Randy Gordon and BoxRec creator John Sheppard.

Long-time publicist Ed Keenan is the co-winner of the 2017 Marvin Kohn Good Guy Award, sharing it with future Hall of Famer Wladimir Klitschko. The team of Keenan-and-Klitschko was selected among a group of worthwhile contenders like Matt Donovan, Jose Ramirez, Bruce Silverglade and Tim Smith.

The awards will be presented at the annual BWAA gala, which will take place in April on a specific date and venue yet to be determined.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, a proposed bout between Manny Pacquiao and Vasyl Loamchenko is not in the near-future cards.

“No, we are not fighting Pacquiao. Manny Pacquiao is calling out Lomachenko, who is three weight classes down the scale from him. Manny Pacquiao is 147 pounds and he’s calling out Lomachenko, who is 130 pounds. That’s insane,” said Lomachenko’s manager Egis Klimas told ESPN.

“There are negotiations now about the No. 1 pound-for-pound, which is Lomachenko,” Pacquiao said in an interview with ABS-CBN. “There are still talks on the weight, reducing the weight.”

“Look, we have our own agenda, our own road and our own plans. That’s where we’re going,” Klimas said. “There’s a lot of champions and good guys at 130 or 135 pounds. That’s where we’re going. Why isn’t Pacquiao calling out [Terence] Crawford? Crawford is moving into Pacquiao’s weight class. Why doesn’t he call out [Mikey] Garcia, who is at 140?”

“The difference is Lomachenko didn’t call out Rigondeaux,” he said. “Rigondeaux was willing and begging for the fight, so Lomachenko fought Rigondeaux. They had two gold medals each, they were both undefeated, and did that take Lomachenko somewhere? For Team Lomachenko, that fight didn’t mean anything. He beat a small guy. Even if he beat Pacquiao, they’d say he beat an old guy who was basically retired. We want to fight active champions dominating their weight classes.”

“We discussed at one point Manny and Lomachenko fighting, but Lomachenko’s father [trainer Anatoly Lomachenko] said he didn’t want him to jump up two divisions even though the fight would be at a catch weight of 140 pounds,” Top Rank’s Bob Arum said. “His father said he wanted him to first go up to 135 pounds and then maybe they’d consider a fight with Pacquiao at 140 pounds later.

“The spring would be too premature, but certainly that’s a fight that might be attractive down the road.”

Guillermo Rigondeaux was stripped of his junior featherweight title following his defeat to Vasyl Lomachenko in a junior lightweight title bout on December 9th, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com

“I think it’s very unfair,” Alex Bornote, Rigondeaux’s manager, told ESPN. “We fought at 130 pounds. What does that have to do with anything at 122 pounds, where Rigo was champion? They just had it in for us. His inactivity has totally screwed him. Rigo has been inactive and when you’re inactive the WBA is not getting any sanctioning fees, so they’ve had it in for us.”

“I didn’t think it would be such a horrible performance,” Bornote said. “It’s another nail in his coffin in his career. It’s the Rigo story. Never have I ever seen such a thing. He has no luck at all.

“He doesn’t feel all that great right now. He didn’t think the weight difference would be such a big deal, but Lomachenko is a very special talent, a great boxer. And Rigo also hurt his hand, so he was at a big disadvantage.”

“It was hard enough for Rigo to get a fight when he had a world title, so now imagine what it’s going to be like without a title. But he’s definitely going back to his weight class at 122 pounds or maybe 126 pounds,” Bornote said. “He’s really a natural 118-pounder, but in this market, with the opponents out there, we might have to also consider fighting at 126 pounds.

“I just don’t know what we’re going to do. Maybe we’ll find something in Europe for him. They liked him when he fought in U.K. [in 2016]. But we’ll try to get him back in the ring and wash that bad taste out of our mouth because that performance with Lomachenko was horrible. He knows it. Lomachenko was just too big, too fast and Rigo hurt his hand. It was a disaster for him. Lomachenko is special. Rigo doesn’t see anyone who is going to beat [Lomachenko] in that weight class. He said Lomachenko is for real.”

LAS VEGAS, NV (December 28, 2017) — Boxing enjoyed an outstanding 2017 and before the crystal ball drops in Times Square to begin an even better year, Top Rank asked some of its fighters for their New Year’s resolutions. Here are their responses:

TERENCE CRAWFORD (32-0, 23 KOs) / Two-division world champion / 2017 BWAA Fighter of the Year nominee / 2014 BWAA Fighter of the Year

“My 2018 resolutions are to win a world title at my new welterweight division, making me a three-division champion, and to open the fully renovated B&B Boxing Academy here in Omaha for all the kids in my community to enjoy.”

VASILIY LOMACHENKO (10-1, 8 KOs) / Two-division world champion / 2017 BWAA Fighter of the Year nominee
“First I want to wish world peace on earth, good health and Happy 2018 to all. For me, I want to get back into the ring at least three times and fight the best fighters and biggest names available.”

ÓSCAR VALDEZ (23-0, 19 KOs) / WBO featherweight world champion

“Thanks to God, this was a year full of emotions and victories for our team. I’m going to keep working hard to defend my title and have an even better 2018”

GILBERTO RAMÍREZ (36-0, 24 KOs) / WBO super middleweight world champion.

“First, I want to successfully defend my title in Corpus Christi on February 3 and give the fans a good show. I want to start 2018 the right way. I also want to unify titles and clean up the division, so I can show the world that I’m the best fighter at 168 pounds. Finally, I want to be the king of the super middleweight division and be one of the best pound for pound fighters. That is my dream”

JOSEPH PARKER (24-0, 18 KOs) / WBO heavyweight world champion

“My New Year’s resolution is to give the fans an undisputed world heavyweight champion by beating up Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder as well as bringing honor to New Zealand, Samoa and the sport of boxing. The world deserves a heavyweight champion who isn’t afraid to fight on his opponents’ home turf.”

JEFF HORN (18-0-1, 12 KOs) / WBO welterweight world champion

“I would like to have a healthy baby and to be a great dad. I would like to earn millions from the sport of boxing. I would like to keep proving the doubters wrong and remain undefeated and world champion against top competition.”

RYOTA MURATA (13-1, 10 KOs), WBA middleweight world champion

“For this coming year I hope to have my title defenses lead to big fights. But first I will put my utmost effort to win the fights, that Top Rank and Teiken Promotion have put together for me, and to win them impressively.”

RAY BELTRAN (34-7-1, 21 KOs) / WBO No. 1 world-rated lightweight contender

“My New Year’s resolution is to be the best father, husband I can be, to continue to provide for my family, to be an ambassador to this sport, to be a model citizen of America, to represent this great country, and Mexico in and out of the ring, and to prove on February16th that I am the best and the most dangerous lightweight in the world.”

JOSE RAMÍREZ (21-0, 16 KOs) / WBC No. 3 world-rated super lightweight contender

“My New Year’s resolution is to continue to fight on immigration. To focus more on priorities including family and business plans. To stay active in the gym all year so I can I fight at least three fights. To become world champion. To worry less about what I don’t have and enjoy more what I do have. To practice my faith a bit more. And last, to spend less time on the phone including Social Media.”

MICHAEL CONLAN (5-0, 4 KOs) / Two-time Olympian / 2012 Olympic bronze medalist / 2016 World Amateur Champion

“My New Year’s resolutions for 2018 is to sell out Madison Square Garden again on St Patrick’s Day, sell out a fight in Boston, and also sell out my homecoming show in Belfast, towards the end off the year. I’d like to push on into big fights and hopefully pick up some sort of title on my way! 2017 has been a fantastic year, thank you to Top Rank, ESPN, my management MTK Global and of course all my supporters all around the world. Let’s bring The Conlan Revolution into 2018 with a bang!”

ANDRE WARD (32-0, 16 KOs) / Retired IBF / WBA / WBO super middleweight world champion / Co-manager of Shakur Stevenson

“Shakur has the potential to be one of the greats in the sport. My resolution for him in 2018 is to stay focused on his craft, listen to the strong team of people he has in his life, and to stay on the right path so he can ultimately get to the finish line.”

SHAKUR STEVENSON (4-0, 2 KOs) / 2016 Olympic silver medalist

“My resolutions for 2018 are to be as active as possible in the ring, continue to make my family and Brick City proud and prove that I am the best prospect in boxing.”

OLEKSANDR GVOZDYK (14-0, 12 KOs) / WBO No. 1 light heavyweight world-rated contender / 2012 Olympic bronze medalist

“I want to become a world champion and then keep busy fighting 3-4 times in 2018. n I want to wish everyone happy and safe holidays.”

ALEX SAUCEDO (26-0, 16 KOs) / No. 3 WBO and No. 4 WBA super lightweight world-rated contender

“It is my New Year’s resolution to make 2018 a big year. To battle hard every time I get into the ring, and ultimately win at least one 140 pound world title.”

CHRISTOPHER DIAZ (22-0, 14 KOs) / No. 4 WBO world-rated junior lightweight contender

“My goal in 2018 is to become a world champion and give boxing fans the best action-packed fights.”

FÉLIX VERDEJO (23-0, 15 KOs) / 2012 Olympian

“My new year’s resolution is to let my actions in the ring speak for me. I want to bring a world title to my Island and I know this will be the year that I become a world champion”

TEÓFIMO LÓPEZ (7-0, 6 KOs) / 2016 Olympian
“My 2018 resolution is nothing but to just keep on winning. Unleashed Savage!”

MIKAELA MAYER (3-0, 2 KOs) / 2016 Olympian / Three-time U.S. National Amateur Champion

1. Practice gratitude even when there’s a reason to be unhappy or to complain
2. Take my dogs on more adventures even when I’m tired from training
3. Eat less meat and incorporate new vegan recipes into my diet more often
4. Design a Mikaela Mayer glove with Everlast
5. Extend my sponsor partnerships
6. Find new ways to give back to my fans
7. Showcase my skills on a MAIN card on ESPN
8. Fight my first 10 rounder
9. Capture all the 130 lb belts!

********************

Top Rank on ESPN makes its season debut on Super Bowl weekend, Saturday, February 3, at American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, TX, with an exciting world championship doubleheader. GILBERTO “Zurdo” RAMÍREZ of Mazatlan, Mexico, defends his World Boxing Organization (WBO) super middleweight world title against Top-Five world-rated contender HABIB “Wild Hurricane” AHMED (22-0, 17 KOs) from Accra, Ghana. The co-main event will feature Filipino fireball and Senator Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao protégé JERWIN “Pretty Boy” ANCAJAS (26-1-1, 18 KOs), of Cavite City, Philippines, in his U.S. debut. Ancajas will be making the fourth defense of his International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior bantamweight world title against Top-10 contender ISRAEL GONZALEZ (20-1, 8 KOs), of Cabo San Lucas, México. Both fights will be televised live and exclusively at 10:15 p.m. EST on ESPN and ESPN Deportes and stream live on the ESPN App.

Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with Zapari Boxing Promotions, MP Promotions and Joven Sports, remaining tickets to the Ramírez – Ahmed / Ancajas – Gonzalez world championship doubleheader event are priced at $152, $102, $62, $42, and $27, including facility fees. They may be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com, at the American Bank Center Box Office, Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT, or charge by phone at 1-800-745-3000.

For more information visit: www.toprank.com, www.espn.com/boxing; Facebook: facebook.com/trboxing,facebook.com/espndeportes; Twitter: twitter.com/trboxing, twitter.com/trboxeo, @ESPN @ESPNBoxeo

@ESPNDeportes.

Last Saturday night, two-time Argentinean Olympian Alberto “Impact” Melian turned professional the “Lomachenko way” by knocking out the former world title challenger Diego Ricardo Santillan in the fifth round.

Fighting in front of a sold out F.A.B. Stadium in his hometown of Buenos Aires, Melian hit Santillan (now 23-3, 15 KOs) with a sizzling right hand that dropped him for the 10 count.

Promoted by Sampson Boxing, in association with Tello Box and JEB Boxing and with the sponsorship of Abitab and Asociación Atlética Argentinos Juniors, “Night Of High Impact” and was broadcast live by TyC Sports for all of Latin America and a large part of the United States.

Next up, the Argentinean super bantamweight phenom will face Julián “Chispita” Aristule for the Argentinean championship.

“Alberto is the newest star in boxing,” said promoter Sampson Lewkowicz. “He is the Argentine Lomachenko. In his first fight, he knocked out a world title challenger and will be world champion by next year.”

On the same fight card, the Buenos Aires native Tomás “The Cobra” Reynoso won by disqualification in the fifth round to Sebastian “The Promise” Papeschi and snatched the super middleweight WBC Latin title.

The referee Rodolfo Stella punished Papeschi after his repeated dangerous use of the head, a situation that had already earned him a one point discount in the second episode.

Reynoso (12-2-1, 3 KOs) gets the belt and he broke the unbeaten record of “The Promise”, who has now a pro record of 12-1, with 6 KOs.

In an international special attraction, the undefeated Californian Sebastian “The Infernal Tower” Fundora (8-0, 4 KOs) won by points in unanimous decision after six rounds to the local idol David Ezequiel “Horseshoe” Romero (11-7-1, 5 KOs). Fundora is getting famous for his extraordinary size of 1.98 m. which makes him the tallest super welterweight boxer in the history of his weight class.

In another six-rounder, the Dominican middleweight, Felix “Jay Jay” Vargas (7-2, 2 KOs) won in split decision to the now former unbeaten Julián Isaias “The Diamond” Gómez (3-1, 3 KOs) from Buenos Aires.

In addition, the former national Argentina amateur team member, the undefeated light flyweight Anyelén “La Peke” Espinosa (5-0) won by unanimous decision after six rounds to María Laura Cano (1-3).

And in a four-rounder, Federico Rodríguez (1-0) makes his pro debut with a victory by points in split decision over Matías Díaz (2-4).
About Sampson Boxing
After a very successful run as a matchmaker and adviser, Sampson Lewkowicz switched over to the promotional side of professional boxing in January 2008.

Sampson Boxing has grown into one of the world’s most prestigious promotional firms, representing many of the world’s best fighters and most promising young contenders.

Sampson Boxing has promotional partners all over North and South America, Africa, Asia, New Zealand, Australia, Europe and Central America and Sampson Boxing events have been televised on such premiere networks as HBO, Showtime, ESPN, VS. and several international networks.

Saturday’s Top Rank on ESPN telecast, featuring Vasiliy Lomachenko successfully defending his WBO World Junior Lightweight title against Guillermo Rigondeaux (17-1-0, 11 KO), delivered big on ratings and viewership, making it Saturday’s most-viewed telecast on cable television among men 18-34 and men 18-49, according to final viewership data from Nielsen Media Research.

December 9 Top Things to Know

· All four of Saturday night’s fights within the telecast averaged at least 1.6 million viewers and rank among the top eight fights on cable in 2017

· Saturday’s Top Rank on ESPN averaged 1,845,000 viewers across ESPN and ESPN Deportes, including 405,000 Hispanic viewers

· On ESPN, the full telecast averaged 1,730,000 viewers and was the most-viewed Hispanic telecast of the day on the network

· On ESPN Deportes, the full telecast averaged 115,000 viewers and was the most-viewed telecast of the day on the network

· On ESPN, the telecast averaged 290,000 Hispanic viewers and 17% of the audience was of Hispanic descent. The telecast was the most-viewed telecast of the day on cable television among Hispanic adults 18 to 49.

Top Rank on ESPN to date

· Saturday’s Top Rank on ESPN telecast ranks as the second most-viewed boxing telecast on cable in 2017, behind the Top Rank on ESPN Manny Pacquiao vs. Jeff Horn July telecast

· To date, Top Rank on ESPN is averaging 1.6 million viewers and 55% of the audience has been multicultural

· Top Rank on ESPN has also aired the twelve most-viewed fights on cable in 2017

*Note that telecast refers to full window (e.g. 9 p.m. to 12 a.m.) and fight refers to each single fight during the telecast

Viewers for Top Boxing Fights on Cable Television in 2017

NET

Date

Fight

Viewers

ESPN

07/01/2017

Manny Pacquiao/Jeff Horn

3,925,000

ESPN

07/01/2017

Jerwin Ancajas/Teiru Kinoshita

2,234,000

ESPN

12/09/2017

Vasiliy Lomachenko/Guillermo Rigondeaux

2,114,000

ESPN

07/01/2017

Michael Conlan/Jarrett Owen

1,867,000

ESPN

11/11/2017

Artur Beterbiev/Enrico Koelling

1,725,000

ESPN

12/09/2017

Shakur Stevenson/Oscar Mendoza

1,687,000

ESPN

12/09/2017

Chris Diaz/Bryant Cruz

1,647,000

ESPN

12/09/2017

Michael Conlan/Luis Fernando Molina

1,635,000

ESPN

08/19/2017

Terence Crawford/Julius Indongo

1,327,000

ESPN

11/11/2017

José Ramírez/Mike Reed

1,182,000

ESPN

07/01/2017

Shane Mosley Jr./David Touissaint

1,177,000

ESPN

08/19/2017

Oleksandr Gvozdyk/Craig Baker

968,000

Next up for Top Rank on ESPN is the Saturday, February 3 bout between Gilbert “Zurdo” Ramirez, Mexico’s super middleweight champion, defending his World Boxing Organization (WBO) title against Top-Five world-rated contender Habib “Wild Hurricane” Ahmed from Accra, Ghana. The fight will take place at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, TX, and will be televised live and exclusively at 10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN Deportes and stream live on the ESPN App.

By Jimmy Tobin-

Saturday night at Madison Square Garden Vasyl “Hi-Tech” Lomachenko convinced his fourth consecutive opponent to quit on his stool. His victim this time, fellow two-time Olympic gold medalist, Guillermo “El Chacal” Rigondeaux, retired with an injured left hand after the sixth round. What more need be said about the action, lopsided, clinical, predictable as it was?

Much will be made of Rigondeaux’s decision in the aftermath: some will wonder how a fist that seemed never to land could have been damaged, or why trainer Pedro Diaz seemed so ready to act on Rigondeaux’s cue to end the affair. Ringside, Tim Bradley, as honest and polite and warring a prizefighter as we have seen in recent years, voiced such skepticism when Rigondeaux, halfway through the fight but at the threshold of humiliation, chose to preserve a career he says he may pursue no further.

Rigondeaux is a proud man, indeed his disregard for audiences is proof of that; he is also a fighter at heart, something he confirmed in climbing off the canvas to butcher Hisashi Amagasa and in his utter and arrogant defusing of Nonito Donaire. For this, perhaps, his professed injury deserves a courteous ear. But every second of every minute of every round Saturday belonged to Lomachenko, and who could better appreciate that dominance, and the bruising mischief it wrought, than Rigondeaux? Perhaps for the first time in a boxing ring, Rigondeaux was without answers, and that hopelessness, made all the more real by the taunts and mockery that have become part of Lomachenko’s signature, was likely more than he could bear.

Now a 37-year-old (and injured?) persona non grata, Rigondeaux chose to walk away from what was likely his last chance at glory and the remuneration it brings. Yes, Lomachenko held every advantage; size, youth, activity aside, he is simply better than Rigondeaux and employs an ideal style for disrupting the Cuban’s measured violence. The fight Rigondeaux had lobbied so long for was finally his, however, and he revealed how much that opportunity meant to him. Offer whatever apologies for Rigondeaux you like, boxers are held to a higher standard because they have earned that honor, and in capitulating as he did, Rigondeaux showed that however brilliant a fighter he is, barring something remarkable and out of tune with the tenor of his career, greatness will elude him.

Did it also confound and abuse him on this night? Well, not yet. Lomachenko is not yet a great fighter. He has the makings of one, certainly, but dominance alone does not establish greatness—at least not in an eleven fight career that features more losses (one) than it does great opponents. That lone loss, to Orlando Salido, is too frequently glossed over to be forgotten. Yet Lomachenko is no longer the naive and inexperienced fighter that fell for Salido’s dirty charms, and the next man who hangs a defeat on the Ukrainian will accomplish something greater than Salido did. Unlike Rigondeaux, Lomachenko will end his career remembered for more than his amateur achievements.

Still, there is something missing from Lomachenko, or, more charitably, if not from him then at least from his fights. That something was on display this weekend, though.

You could find it in the ring in Hialeah, Florida, where light heavyweight neverender, Jean Pascal, took his first (and hopefully only) leave of the sport knocking out aspiring Ahmed Elbiali. Plenty pulped over the past few years, Pascal nevertheless faced yet another undefeated fighter in Elbiali—his fifth in his last six fights. And as he has done for years, Pascal drew a line in the sand behind which he lobbed one grenade after another, wagering on his ammunition outlasting his opponent.

It was there in the Copper Box Arena in England, where +5000 underdog Caleb Truax won the IBF super middleweight title from James DeGale. No meager feat that: taking a title on the cards on a champion’s turf, but there was Truax giving his best performance in his biggest moment and being rightly rewarded for it. That title came with a bullseye, and Truax, who understandably dropped to his knees as his name was read, now wears both happily.

So too, could you find it in the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, where Miguel Roman extended his career at the expense of Orlando Salido, who bid us farewell with yet another self-immolating performance. Salido’s career ends the way it began, with a TKO loss, but what he managed in the sixty fights in between is what defines him. If a less-than-great fighter can have a great career, then Salido had one; if there is a question about Salido the fighter he left unanswered it has yet to be spoken. Like Rigondeaux, Salido too decided he had had enough, wilting finally under Roman’s bodywork and the slow bleed of a career remarkable for its brutality. But boxing forgives the bold (which is why any outcome other than Saturday’s would have been better for Rigondeaux), and Salido earned that soft spot on the canvas.

Pascal, Truax, Salido—Lomachenko is better than all of them by some margin. And yet these three each provided something more intimate, more vulnerable, and in their own way more endearing than Lomachenko’s perfection. Lomachenko is math not literature; the application of formulas not passion.

The implied request here is for moments of genuine peril for Lomachenko, the type of request last directed toward Floyd Mayweather Jr., whose fights also felt scripted in their dominance. It is because of comparisons like this that the goalposts are continuously moved on Lomachenko, and so they should be considering how close he was to them from the start, how easily he has triumphed since his stumble against Salido (because, again, that happened). But this is proof he is great, you say? Fine. Those goalposts, move them again and again and again.

By Bart Barry-

Saturday on ESPN Ukrainian super featherweight champion Vasyl “Hi-Tech” Lomachenko made undefeated Cuban super bantamweight champion Guillermo “The Jackal” Rigondeaux quit after six rounds. On HBO Mexican journeyman Miguel “Mickey” Roman beat to a crumple Mexican journeyman and former champion Orlando “Siri” Salido. ESPN’s match comprised two fighters with four Olympic gold medals. HBO’s comprised two fighters with 25 professional losses. While any aficionado might’ve predicted which match would be more entertaining, few of us predicted exactly how much more entertaining Roman-Salido’d be than Lomachenko-Rigondeaux.

Saturday’s mainevents hadn’t a unifying thread that springs to mind but Salido, HBO’s counterprogramming ace, representing the one loss on Lomachenko’s record. It’s a proper loss, too, no matter how a commentator and ring announcer now revise it.

No sooner do we threaten to start a new era in which undefeated ledgers are not all there is to a fighter’s dossier but we try to unblemish Lomachenko’s record retroactively – else we’ll compromise what words like “otherworldly” we now include in the subtitle of his brochure. This straining for symmetry is what happens when we see ourselves as storytellers, not journalists, a point of ongoing and massive struggle for television as a medium.

Television was built on images that flicker to mesmerize and entertain. When this wasn’t enough to grow revenues television endeavored to get serious and journalistic and in a small corner of itself did so successfully enough subgenres got born. But television is too topical to be sober or intellectual as the written word – with its frowzy dressers, doughy faces, hard drinkers and thousandhours spent in front of library stacks instead of mirrors – and television knows this about itself and too knows it’s not glorious or beautiful as cinema or it wouldn’t have to sell its every fifth minute to advertisers. Television is best when it tries to be a little of both, more intellectual than cinema, more fun than print.

Television is frankly awful when it tries to lecture. There were some moments of it Saturday.

Something about Lomachenko, starting with his silly nickname, makes aspiring Homers of every speedreader and street philosopher; the mean feat of making smaller men quit fighting in frustration ascends to the historic when Lomachenko does it. Much of this, again, is his topicality; Lomachenko’s promoter, Bob Arum, knows better than any man alive if you can get your guy in front of a camera against weak opposition television’s salesmanship reliably fills every vacuum in realtime; commentary crews involuntarily enter a hyperbole duel with one another, earnestly wanting to be able to say theirs was the first to perform a historic inventory of this historic figure’s every historic quality. Some writers sometimes do this, too, especially those who hope to make it to television someday, but writing polices its own – as it did for centuries before television’s invention – dealing in credibility more than ratings.

Something about the very nature of words makes it harder to write “Lomachenko may someday be considered greater than Muhammad Ali” than it is to say it.

If there’s some tension between a pursuit of truth and a fun experience, television has to err on the fun side of things, selling the experience in a way print does not: nobody, after all, in 30 years will say he remembers the first time he read about Lomachenko, while plenty of folks now hope to have occasion to say they remember the first time they saw him. There are plenty of smart professionals in television, of course, and after thinking a bit on the proposition they realize the risk to credibility of calling every fighter the next Ali, Marciano or Robinson (or Pernell Whitaker) is dwarfed by the reward of being the first to recognize a future legend.

“Predicting,” as they say, “10 of the next two great champions.”

At the risk of losing a reader or two, I can happily report I found Miguel Roman’s victory multiples more compelling than Lomachenko’s. Wait, get back here, you two; I watched Lomachenko-Rigondeaux live, not Roman-Salido. If I wasn’t nearly first on the Rigondeaux bandwagon I did cover from ringside his sixth, ninth and 10th prizefights and recognized, with the help of a local San Antonio trainer, his multitude of talents. I wasn’t ringside for his defining win against Nonito Donaire (I was at a Natalie Merchant concert in Fort Worth, instead, and do not regret it a little) but was thrilled with the result, annoyed as I was by the hyperbole by then accrued to Donaire.

Since then I’ve been unimpressed by Rigondeaux as the rest of you. But he did do Saturday what we ask prizefighters to do once they’ve declared themselves too-feared to find opponents in their proper weightclasses. And the result was predictable. Fruity as his comportment often is, Lomachenko gives refreshingly honest postfight analyses, and his saying a corner quittage by an undersized man did not rate was my favorite thing Lomachenko did Saturday.

There’s no need to rehash the action because, over and again, it’s awfully easy to look sensational and do outlandish against a man once you know he can’t hurt you, which is why Canelo and GGG made none of the highlights against each other in September they make against smaller men.

Anyway it would be malpractice to commit any more space to that unexceptional and unsatisfying fare after a weekend when Miguel Roman retired Orlando Salido in a gorgeous attritioning of Salido’s noble spirit. Each man planned to retire if he lost, and neither man said so beforehand, which compares most favorably with the lucrative twofight sendoff HBO and Miguel Cotto just threw Miguel Cotto, no?

Roman probably won’t win his next fight without he barefoots another pathway of hot coals, which is fortunate for us and unfortunate for him. After what Roman just did to Salido at 130 pounds, with a different marketing team and promoter and momentum he might otherwise be allowed to make shortfilms about his reflexes and do otherworldly things against a bantamweight.

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter @bartbarry

Last night’s fight between Vasiliy Lomachenko (10-1-0, 7 KO) vs. Guillermo Rigondeaux (17-1-0, 11 KO) delivered big on ratings, making it the second highest-rated boxing telecast on cable in 2017, according to Nielsen overnight ratings. It was an electric, full house at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City that watched two of the top ten pound-for-pound fighters in the world, both two-time Olympic gold medal winners, battle it out for the WBO Junior Lightweight World Title. Lomachenko wowed with a sixth-round TKO.

Three additional fights rounded out Saturday’s cable television card with marquee appearances by rising stars Shakur Stevenson, Chris Diaz and Mick Conlan, all three placing in the top ten fights of the year.

With the Lomachenko vs. Rigondeaux results in, ESPN now has secured seven of the top ten rated fights of the year and the highest-rated fights on cable television since July 1. In just six months, since the Top Rank on ESPN debut, ESPN has generated impressive ratings results with its boxing events starting with its telecast of Pacquiao vs Horn, the #1 rated fight of the year.

2017 Top Ten Fights on Cable Television

DATE
NETWORK
FIGHT
MTRD MKT RTG
07/01/2017
ESPN
Manny Pacquiao vs Jeff Horn
2.4
12/09/2017
ESPN
Vasiliy Lomachenko vs Guillermo Rigondeaux
1.5
12/09/2017
ESPN
Shakur Stevenson vs. Oscar Mendoza
1.1
12/09/2017
ESPN
Michael Conlon vs. Luis Molina
1.1
11/25/2017
HBO
Sergey Kovalev vs. Vyacheslav Shabranskyy
1.1
08/19/2017
ESPN
Terence Crawford vs Julius Indongo
1.0
11/11/2017
ESPN
Artur Beterbiev vs. Enrico Koelling
1.0
12/09/2017
ESPN
Chris Diaz vs. Bryant Cruz
1.0
11/25/2017
HBO
Sullivan Barrera vs. Felix Valera
1.0
Multiple tied at
0.9

Top Things to Know
· Last night’s Top Rank on ESPN telecast featuring Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. Guillermo Rigondeaux averaged a 1.3 metered market rating
· Based on overnight ratings, last night’s event alone also secured four of the year’s top ten rated boxing fights on cable
· Based on overnight ratings, this is the second highest-rated boxing telecast on cable in 2017 and the second highest-rated boxing telecast on ESPN since the start of 2016
· Las Vegas was the top local market, where the telecast averaged a 3.0 metered market rating, including a 4.5 rating during the main event

Top Local Markets
Las Vegas and Tulsa were the top two markets for the full telecast, with a 3.0 metered market rating.

Rank
Market
Metered Market Rating
1
Las Vegas
3.0
2
Tulsa
3.0
3
Oklahoma City
2.7
4
Knoxville
2.5
5
Norfolk-Portsmith-Newport
2.3

Next up on Top Rank on ESPN is the title fight between boxing’s Cinderella Man, Jeff “the Hornet” Horn and Gary “Hellraiser” Corcoran. The WBO Welterweight championship fight will air live from Brisbane, Australia Wednesday, December 13, at 6:30 a.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN Deportes, and stream live on the ESPN App. Horn (17-0-1, 11 KOs) will be risking his newly-minted World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight crown against Top-10 contender Gary “Hellraiser” Corcoran (17-1, 7 KOs), of London. It will be the Brit’s first fight outside the United Kingdom. Horn vs. Corcoran will re-air the same day at 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

Follow all the action as Vasyl Lomachenko takes on Guillermo Rigondeaux for the WBO Junior Lightweight world championship in a 1st time battle of double Olympic Gold Medal winners from the Theater in Madison Square Garden.  The action kicks off at 9 PM Et / 6 PM PT / 4 AM in Ukraine with a 3 fight undercard featuring Michael Conlan battling Luis Fernando Molina; Christopher Diaz taking on Bryant Cruz; Olympic Silver Medal Winner Shakur Stevenson fighting Oscar Mendoza.

NO BROWSER REFRESH NEEDED; THE PAGE WILL UPDATE AUTOMATICALLY

Round 1: Left from Lomachanko..Left to body from Rigondeaux…Jab from Lomachenko

Round 2  Left and right from Lomanchenko..Jab..Right hook..Straight left..Hard jab

Round 3 Lomachenko lands 2 shots..Uppercut and another left..

Round 4 Jab and quick 3 punch combination from Lomachenko…3 punch combo..Hard jab

Round 5  Lomachenko just tapping Rigondeaux..Rigondeaux warned for holding..Counter left from Rigondeaux..

Round 6 Left from Lomanchenko..4 punches to the head while Rigondeaux is bending..RIGONDEAUX DOCKED A POINT FOR HOLDING…Hard left from Lomachenko...RIGONDEAUX QUITS IN THE CORNER…FIGHT IS OVER

Round 7

Round 1 Uppercut from Conlan

Round 2  Good left from Conlan…Jab..

Round 3 Right hook from Conlan..Combination..Left to body..Right hook and jab…Conlan switching..

Round 4 Left to body from Conlan..Right from Molina…Combination from Conlan

Round 5  Conlan flicks a left….Hard straight left..Counter right hook..2 body shots..

Round 6 Straight left from distance by Conlan..Body combination

Round 1: BIG RIGHT AND DOWN GOES CRUZ…Right from Cruz..

Round 2  Diaz landed a left to the body…Hard riGHT AND DOWN GOES CRUZ..6 HUGE PUNCHES AND DOWN FO GOES CRUZ

Round 3 LEFT HOOK WOBBLES AND DROPS CRUZ…FIGHT STOPPED

Round 1 Straight left from Stevenson..Straight left to body..Hard left to the head..

Round 2 Hard combination from Stevenson..Combo to head..HARD STRAIGHT LEFT AND THE FIGHT IS STOPPED

LONDON (8 December) – Vasily Lomachenko believes he will knockout Cuban foe Guillermo Rigondeaux in one of the most anticipated fights in recent years.

Two of boxing’s most decorated amateurs are set to do battle this Saturday night, exclusively live on BoxNation, in a showdown that will see Ukrainian superstar Lomachenko’s WBO super-featherweight world title up for grabs.

Despite the belt being on the line both men are regarded by most observers as the sport’s two most skilled fighters, with 29-year-old Lomachenko aiming to make a quick night of it.

“I am going to walk through him like a tank and knock him out. I am like every single fighter – going into the ring I have in my mind ‘finish the bout before all the rounds are over and to get the victory before that,” said Lomachenko.

“There is a good possibility that the fight will end before the twelfth round. I am not promising to knock him out but I am promising to squash him.

“I have a plan in my head, a picture of what I am going to do but I don’t think it would be too smart to talk about it right now. I think it is better one time to see than 100 times to say,” he said.

It looked unlikely that the pair would ever share the ring but this historic clash will now mark the first time two-time Olympic gold medalists have fought each other professionally at the highest level.

“I agree that it is a historical bout, it is an interesting bout and most importantly it is an interesting bout for me,” said Lomachenko.

“A lot of time was spent to make this bout. For a while it was never happening and finally it happened. It is very, very interesting and all of the boxing fans wanted to see the fight and finally we can deliver it,” he said.

37-year-old Rigondeaux has held multiple world titles at super-bantamweight but will be moving up eight pounds to take on Lomachenko at the 130-pound super-featherweight limit.

However, ‘The Jackal’ is unconcerned at this and believes he will be just as strong at the new weight, as he looks to give fans a fight to remember at the sold-out Madison Square Garden.

“I went up to 130 because it was the only way I could get this fight made. I would rather it have been at a lower weight, but I want to show the world that I can do it by moving up two weight classes,” said Rigondeaux.

“I feel stronger than ever and I am going to do it and do it right. Moving up has had no negative effect whatsoever on my speed or power.

“It is the first time in history that two multiple Olympic champions are going to fight each other and it is going to be a very good fight.

“It’s going to be a great fight for the fans and it’s going to be a great historical fight that fans will forever look back on,” he said.

Prior to the monster clash from New York, BoxNation will also be live from the Copper Box Arena in London in a stacked card that sees IBF super-middleweight world champion James DeGale defend his title against the dangerous American Caleb Traux.

‘Chunky’ DeGale fights in the UK for the first time in three years following his 2014 third round win over Marco Antonio Periban and will headline a card that also sees IBF featherweight world champion Lee Selby back in action.

The Welsh star goes up against Mexico’s Eduardo Ramirez, with rising stars Anthony Yarde and heavyweight Daniel Dubois featuring on the night.

The live action from London starts at 6.35pm this Saturday evening, with Lomachenko v Rigondeaux taking place later that night exclusively live on ‘The Channel of Champions’.

BoxNation is available on Sky/Freeview/Virgin/TalkTalk/EE/Apple TV/ online at watch.boxnation.com and via apps (iOS, Android, Amazon) for just £12 a month. Buy now at boxnation.com.
– ENDS –

About BoxNation

BoxNation, the Channel of Champions and proud partner of Rainham Steel, is the UK’s first dedicated boxing channel. From £12* per month with no minimum term customers can enjoy great value live and exclusive fights, classic fight footage, magazine shows and interviews with current and former fighters.

Previous highlights have included Haye vs Chisora, Mayweather vs Maidana, Saunders vs Eubank Jr and Canelo vs Golovkin.

The channel is available on Sky (Ch.437), Freeview (Ch.255), Virgin (Ch.546), TalkTalk (Ch.415), online at watch.boxnation.com and via apps (ios, Android, Amazon, Apple TV). BoxNation is also available in high definition on Sky (Ch. 490), at no extra cost to Sky TV subscribers, providing they are already HD enabled.

Available on selected internet-connected Freeview products only, subject to coverage. Visit freeview.co.uk/availability.

BoxNation is also available to commercial premises (inc. pubs, clubs and casino’s) in the UK and Ireland, for more information on a commercial subscription please call 0844 842 7700.

For more information visit www.boxnation.com

*Plus £8 registration fee for Sky TV customers

By Norm Frauenheim-

Boxing loves comebacks and it looks as if a business always reported to be dying might be poised to make another one.

The perennial patient still has a pulse, thanks this time to Vasiliy Lomachenko-Guillermo Rigondeaux Saturday in a year-ender that follows some promising television numbers.

Last Saturday, Miguel Cotto said goodbye after getting upset by Sadam Ali in a so-called retirement fight. Retirement fights are a bad idea. Terrible advertising, too. But people watched anyway with a HBO audience that peaked at 1,012, 000, according to ratings released this week.

That is boxing’s second-highest rating for premium cable in 2017. It came a week after a peak audience of 900,000 watched the HBO telecast of Sergey Kovalev’s comeback from successive losses to Andre Ward with a stoppage of Vyacheslav Shabranskyy.

Both fights were thoroughly forgettable. But the solid numbers are significant for what they suggest. To wit: Maybe, there’s still a potential audience out there, perhaps re-energized by a move away from pay-per-view and maybe intrigued by a new generation of fighters.

A better look at whether the sport is poised to make another resurrection will play out Saturday in Lomachenko-Rigondeaux on ESPN (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT). The 130-pound bout in The Theater at Madison Square Garden sold out two months ago.

It’s been generating talk for weeks, although it’s been hard to know just who and how many are doing all the talking. The bout, the first ever between a couple of two-time Olympic gold medalists, looks as if it could be a gem. At least, it does for the sport’s usual crowd, said by some to be a shrinking demographic.

When the intriguing fight was announced, there was skepticism about whether a Ukrainian-versus-a-Cuban could ever be much of an attraction for an American audience.

Tactically, Lomachenko-Rigondeaux is loaded with all the elements of a potential classic. It’s old-school Sweet Science, imminent art on canvas. But lots of fans like their fights in a cage these days. Within those old ropes? Still, hard to say.

Lomachenko’s innovative approach to an old and scarred craft against a seemingly ageless Cuban schooled in fundamentals is a clash between new and old. It’s timeless. It also sets the stage for a New Year, meaning new names and fresh faces instead of just more retirement fights.

From this corner, it’s interesting, even fascinating on many levels. But the real question rests in how many are interested. How many are fascinated? How many boxing fans are there? The last couple of weeks add up to reasons to guess there might be more than believed.

The guess here is that the bigger and younger Lomachenko wins a unanimous decision over the 37-year-old Rigondeaux, who is jumping up two weight classes, from 122 to 130.

But the bigger decision will rest in ratings for a fight that will say a lot about the state of the game.

Casey Ramos bowed out of his bout with Christopher Diaz this Saturday night at The Theater at Madison Square Garden, and he will be replaced by Bryant Cruz as part of the Vasyl Lomachenko – Guillermo Rigondeaux undercard, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

Carl Moretti said he was not sure why Ramos (24-1, 6 KOs), 28, of Austin, Texas, pulled out of the fight. “We have not been presented with a reasonable or logical reason why Ramos is out,” Moretti said. “I just know he is not getting on a plane to come to New York for the fight, and he’s out. (Top Rank matchmaker) Brad (Goodman) did all the work to get the new fight done quickly.”

“Considering Cruz is coming off a win only three weeks ago and he’s still in shape — and he didn’t hesitate to take the fight with Diaz — we expect a highly competitive fight on Saturday night,” Moretti said.

By Norm Frauenheim-

It’s historical for the continuum that Vasily Lomachenko and Guillermo Rigondeaux represent. Four gold, two each, at four Olympics over 12 years, from 2000 to 2012, are many years, medals and miles, stretching from Sydney, to Athens, then Beijing and finally London.

That they would meet in New York in The Theater at fabled Madison Square Garden on Dec. 9 almost looks like destiny. It’s not, of course. In boxing, only scars are. Still, their path to a 130-pound, ESPN-televised bout from opposite ends of the globe and very different cultures is a big part of the story.

In one corner, there’s Lomachenko, a Ukrainian whose Baryshnikov-like footwork and many-angled style reminds promoter Bob Arum of Ali, and we’re not talking about Sadam. Then, there’s Rigondeaux, a Cuban whose sad, weathered face is the look of a man who appears to be older than his listed 37and yet he glides across the canvas with the foot-and-hand speed of someone much younger.

“What you’re looking at here are two schools of boxing, Cuban and Eastern European,’’ Arum said this week in a conference call.

But who would ever guessed that the better, more marketable, boxer would have come out of the Euro classroom? Seventeen years ago when Rigondeaux won the first of two golds as an Olympic bantamweight at the Sydney Games, the Cubans were as dominant as they were feared. Rigondeaux, the only fighter still active from the medalists at Sydney, wasn’t even the best Cuban of that time. Heavyweight Felix Savon was. Savon won a third gold medal and had everyone buzzing about how he could be the next Ali if not for a regimented Cuban system.

The thinking then was that Cuba’s amateur boxers could one day transform America’s capitalistic version of the craft the way Cubans have impacted the major league baseball. Thus far, however, the Cuban boxers have only struggled, unlike the emerging fighters from Ukraine, Russia and Kazakhstan.

How come? Best guess is that the collapse of the old Soviet Union forced fighters to re-invent themselves and what they had to do to make a living. It was a lesson in individuality and a realistic understanding of what the prize in prizefighting really means. From Gennady Golovkin to Sergey Kovalev, they learned how to fight for money instead of medals. The cutting edge of that evolution is Lomachenko, whose advertised creativity has begun to capture the imagination of North American fans.

Time is a significant difference. Perhaps, the only one. There’s been a whole new generation of fighters since the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989 The robotic fighters of the old Soviet system are gone, supplanted first by Golovkin, then Kovalev and finally Lomachenko, who won gold at featherweight in 2008 and gold at lightweight in 2012. In time, maybe the same thing will happen with the Cubans.

For now, Rigondeaux still seems stuck in the old mindset of eluding punches and landing as many as possible for points. The idea is to limit the risk, impress the judges and protect whatever scorecard advantage there is in the late rounds. It wins, but it doesn’t sell.

Arum believes that the clever Lomachenko’s aggressiveness will not allow Rigondeaux to “pile up points” early, thereby preventing him from “stinking it up” late. Maybe, but be forewarned. Junior-middleweight Erislandy Lara, an old Rigondeaux teammate on the Cuban national team, “stunk it up” on Oct 14 in a unanimous decision over Terrell Gausha at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. It was bad enough for fans to exit the building while Lara circled, circled and circled some more in the closing moments of the main event.

A different Rigondeaux is another possibility. Maybe, he sheds that Cuban mindset with dynamic skillset that seems to be there in the lightning-like hands that always look as if they are capable of adding punishment to the points. That would be a surprise. Then again, the journey to Dec. 9 has been full of surprises.

We are ten days away from arguably the most historic fight we have seen in many a year. Two 2-time Olympic Gold Medalists facing off for the first time professionally, at the highest level, in a world championship fight. It will be Saturday, December 9 at the Theater at Madison Square Garden, which has been sold out for nearly two months. It and it will be televised live on ESPN at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT. There will be a four-bout telecast that will end up with the grand finale of a great night of boxing, Lomachenko vs. Rigondeaux. The entire card will stream live on the ESPN App., beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT

TEAM RIGONDEAUX

MICHAEL YORMARK (President & Chief of Branding & Strategy, Roc Nation): Thank you and good afternoon everybody. We are equally excited about this incredible night of boxing. On behalf of Guillermo as well as Roc Nation, we want to thank Top Rank; we want to thank ESPN; and all of the organizations that have been involved in making this event what it will be on December 9. I’m joined today by Dino Duva who heads up Roc Nation Boxing and would like for him to talk about the bout.

DINO DUVA (Head of Boxing, Roc Nation): Thank you and just to echo what Michael said we are just extremely proud and excited to be part of this great historic fight. It’s a pleasure doing business with Bob and Top Rank and everyone on their team and obviously ESPN who is the leader in sports around the world to be a part of this historic event as a boxing fan I can’t wait to see this fight. We are very excited for Rigo, amongst everything. Rigo has had a historic legendary career as an Olympic fighter and now as a professional and this is a fight that he’s been waiting for his entire career, to bring him not just to the top of the pound-for-pound list, where he has always been, to bring him the exposure and the accolades as one of the most popular fighters in the world that he’s so deserving of. But he’s never had the chance to get there. This is the fight that’s going to bring him over that hump. We congratulate Lomachenko – he’s a great fighter – we think he’s stepped up a little too much in this fight, but it’s going to be a great match. We are just really proud to be a part of this historic event.

GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX: I’m very happy that everything has been put in place. I started on ESPN so I am very happy that this fight is taking place there and I would like to thank Roc Nation and Top Rank for putting it together. I have been anticipating this fight for a long time and now everything is concrete and the fight is on its way.

Lomachenko said yesterday that if Rigondeaux wants to win he will have to come straight at me. What do you think of that?

GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX: Let him think what he wants. We are going to do what we need to do. We have our game plan.

What was the thought process to move up two divisions to make this fight happen? Did you think about staying at 122?

GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX: I went up to 130 because it was the only way I could get this fight made. I would rather it have been at a lower weight, but I want to show the world that I can do it by moving up two weight classes.

There are not many fighters in history that have been on par with Guillermo’s amateur career – does you view Lomachenko as an equal?

GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX: He is a great boxer and he has a lot of qualities and he is also an Olympic Champion, multiple times, so he’s got a lot of talent, yes.

How do you feel about that fact that most people are looking at mostly your amateur backgrounds when talking about the fight? After all, it is the first time that two-time Olympic Gold Medal winners are going to fight each other.

GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX: Yes, it is the first time in history that two multiple Olympic champions are going to fight each other, face each other off, and it is going to be a very good fight. It’s going to be a great fight for the fans and it’s going to be a great historical fight that fans will forever look back on.

Since fighting Drian Francisco in 2015, you have only had two fights that lasted a total of three rounds. Are you concerned about any kind of rust because of the way you fight it is so much about his timing and quickness?

GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX: No, not at all. I can assure you 100% that I am at 100% and I am going to show the world what I have been preparing for.

Do you think that eight pounds is too much to give up?

GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX: No, not at all. If this is what it takes to fight the big fights then you guys are going to see on December 9 if I am ready or not.

What other champions would you like to face ideally?

GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX: I am tired of saying, ‘don’t talk to me about Santa Cruz, don’t talk to me about Frampton’ – I have already said I want to fight these guys. Ask them if they want to fight – anybody, any time, but I am tired of saying that. Ask them who they want too fight because they don’t want to fight me.

Considering you are jumping two weight classes how will you rate your power?

GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX: I feel stronger than ever and I am going to do it and do it right. Moving up has had no negative effect whatsoever on my speed or power.

What about the WBA and the 122 lb. title – do you have any comments on that?

GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX: Not right now. At this time we are concentrating on this fight and we can worry about that when it’s over.

DINO DUVA: Just so everyone knows, we are actually still working with the WBA to reconsider their resolution and position on this. I am hopeful and confident they will do the right thing and allow Rigo to make his decision after the fight. It is not a closed subject yet.

Do you expect this fight to go the distance and do you worry that some of the subtle moves that you do will go unnoticed by the judges?

GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX: It is going to be a massacre. People should anticipate a massacre. Absolutely – not at all, I am not worried at all. I will just go in there and do my job.

Is there added pressure to make this fight exciting?

GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX: The one that has to worry is Lomachenko. I am fine and I will do what I need to do when I get in the ring. I don’t worry too much what people think. I have my power every time I step in the ring.

Do you think you will knock him out?

GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX: I don’t look for a knockout. It just happens. It’s unpredictable.

You beat Donaire, The Ring Fighter of the Year, and never really received the proper respect for that and here you are five years later. How do you feel about that?

GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX: I don’t spend too much time thinking about that. I do my job and I do it well. I leave all that other stuff to the people that handle that. I’ve gone through a lot of adversity in my life as it is. I just take care of what I need to do in the ring.

Do you feel motivated to beat a Top Rank fighter after leaving Top Rank?

GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX: Even if it is the Son of God, I don’t care. I fight whoever I need to fight.

Are you worried about getting a fair shake from the judges?

GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX: Absolutely not – forget about that – I don’t think about that. I just do what I think I need to do.

What is the key to this fight?

GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX: I’ve got to do my job and I have to win convincingly so they can’t rob me.

This is the second time they have tried to strip you. Does it make you look at belts differently?

GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX: I leave the sanctioning negotiations and all the tough negotiating to Dino. He’s the one that handles that. I don’t let that affect my fighting or my training for the fight. Give the belt to anyone. Dino will then find a way for me to get it back in the ring.

How long have you wanted to fight Lomachenko?

GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX: I wanted to fight him when he was at 126. And we tried and we tried and we tried and he wouldn’t step in the ring with me. Now he is at 130 and wants to step in the ring with me because he believes now he has the advantage over me.

Most pundits have you as an underdog in this fight. If you win would you regard it as your greatest victory?

GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX: There are a lot of things that are more important to me in my professional career, however, this would be a big feat and let the world see who is the best pound-for-pound boxer.

What would the other greater things in career be?

GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX: It is my way of thinking that there will be a lot of greater things that will come my way after this fight – yes a lot of things. This win will be a great thing for my career but I have had a lot of great victories in the past and this will be one more to add to my great victories, but there will be better tings to come once I get past him.

Do you think this fight will go 12 rounds?

GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX: It could finish before or it could finish after.

So do you think you will stop him?

GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX: Lomachenko and forty more like him.

Who are the other fighters that you think could be bigger wins than Lomachenko?

GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX: I will need two more fights in my career to retire. I will fight Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder. I will go into heavyweight. I am willing to fight anyone in the world.

Lomachenko said the only reason you are taking this fight is because you are older now and want to get a big payday and retire.

GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX: That’s fine – let him think that way.

Does it make you mad?

ALEX BORNOTE (Rigondeaux Manager): I’ll answer that for him. Yes, of course it makes him mad. All he’s ever done, if anyone asks him who he wants to fight? He’ll fight anyone and he’ll fight everybody. The only reason he doesn’t fight more is because no one wants to fight him for whatever reason that may be. He wants to fight a lot more people before his career is over.

Lomachenko also feels that you both are the same size, except he may be a little taller.

GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX: Yes more or less we are almost right there.

In Closing…

MICHAEL YORMARK: Once again I would like to thank all of the media and ESPN and everybody on the call here today and especially Top Rank for giving us this opportunity. Obviously it’s an exciting fight it’s going to be a great night of boxing. We look forward to seeing everybody in New York City next Saturday night.

DINO DUVA: The only think I would like to say in closing, to all the media, thank you for joining us. When Rigo beats Lomachenko all I ask is that you give him the credit he deserves. He’s been knocked around a lot and a lot of it has been undeserving. When he beats Lomachenko, please, give him the credit he deserves, because he is one of the all time greats. When he performs on December 9, give him what he deserves. That’s all I ask.

GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX: Thank you for putting this event together – all the promoters and ESPN and all of the fans, so stay tuned and wait to see what you’re going to see on December 9.

ALEX BORNOTE: This is the fight the fans want to see and he has to go up two weight classes to do it. It’s the only way the fight was going to happen and it’s great for boxing, and see you there next week.

TEAM LOMACHENKO

EGIS KLIMAS (Lomachenko Manager): Yes we have been on the line for ten minutes listening to that bull shit.

BOB ARUM: I had to watch my blood pressure so I didn’t listen.

Bob, this is your 30th promotion at The Garden, dating back to Muhammad Ali vs. Oscar Bonavena (December 7, 1970), and it’s a big one…

BOB ARUM: This is a conference call with the greatest fighter since Muhammad Ali. A guy that I can’t wait to see in a historic fight that has never happened before – in each corner a fighter having two Gold Medals. This is an historic battle and it’s going to be one of many historic battles for Vasyl Lomachenko who I have said from the beginning he is the best fighter I have seen since the early Muhammad Ali.

VASYL LOMACHENKO: I would like to thank everyone who is participating in this call. This is the first time I am going to be talking in two months about the fight. Yesterday was my media workout day and I am very happy to talk to the media about this bout.

You said yesterday that if Rigondeaux wants to win he will have to come straight at me. Do you think Rigondeaux is going to do that?

VASYL LOMACHENKO: No, I don’t think he’s going to be doing that. He has never done that in his whole career. When he goes forward he falls down in the ring. I don’t think he’s going to be doing that.

Can you respond to Rigondeaux’s comment saying you wouldn’t fight him at featherweight?

VASYL LOMACHENKO: We all can’t believe in that nonsense. There is a video of one of the reporters asking him ‘would you like to fight Vasyl Lomachenko?’ when he was at 126. He said to the reporter “wait a second, what weight am I fighting?’ and the reporter said 122 and he said ‘well what kind of questions do we have? I am at 122.’ It is on video on YouTube – anybody can find it. It’s not the truth.

How do you feel about the two greatest amateurs in the history of the sport fighting against each other?

VASYL LOMACHENKO: Yes, I agree that it is a historical bout, it is an interesting bout and most importantly it is an interesting bout for me. A lot of time was spent to make this bout. For awhile it was never happening and finally it happened. It is very, very interesting and all of the boxing fans wanted to see the bout and finally we can deliver it.

Rigondeaux is known for his defense – how do you break through it?

VASYL LOMACHENKO: Yes of course I have a plan in my head, a picture of what I am going to do but I don’t think it would be too smart to talk about it right now. I think it is better one time to see than 100 times to say.

Are you worried that Rigondeaux may go in there and stink it out?

BOB ARUM: Let me give you my expert opinion because I’ve been around the sport for a lot of years. What you are looking at here are two different schools of boxing. The Cuban and the Eastern European. The Eastern European, let me start with Vasyl Lomachenko – he is very technically proficient and very good and when he is fighting he is very defensive minded, looks for an opening, but always with the goal in mind, not only to win a points victory but also to hurt, or knockout or make his opponent quit. Watch every one of his fights – it’s always designed, very crowd pleasing because it gives the crowd – the crowd gets into it – because he is looking to destroy his opponent. That’s pretty much the Eastern European style. The Cuban style is different, they pile up points then they stink you out till the end of the fight because all they care about is winning the fight on points. So in this fight, Vasyl will not allow Rigondeaux to pile up points, so Rigondeaux, to win the fight, will have to be more aggressive than he wants to be. When you watch Rigondeaux fight you will see a fantastic fighter who is aggressive, piles up points and then stinks you out by just coasting to victory. That’s the Cuban style – just win, brother. Win by the points — a different style form the Easter European. I think this is going to be a very, very good fight, a very interesting fight because Rigondeaux is not going to be able to gut out a big lead on points on Vasyl, therefore he will have to fight the entire fight as long as it goes to win a victory.

BOB ARUM: Rigondeaux is a very, very good fighter. He is one of the best fighters that I have seen. He is a terrific fighter. You can’t let him pile up points because then he will coast and stink you out. Vasyl is no only a great fighter – he is the best fighter since the young Muhammad Ali. He will not seed the ground early, therefore Rigondeaux will have to fight the entire fight in order to win and therefore I see a very, very exciting fight and you are going to see the best of these guys.

When Bob Arum calls you the best fighter since the young Muhammad Ali does that put added pressure on you?

VASYL LOMACHENKO: I am hearing from Mr. Arum saying these things about me for almost two years. It doesn’t put pressure on my any more – it used to but no more.

How long did you know this fight would be next and how did that factor into your Twitter war?

EGIS KLIMAS: We were fooling around with Twitter – the people that run Rigondeaux’s twitter, they were very aggressive abut the fight. To tell you the truth, I never believed the fight was going to happen until I got the phone call from Bob telling me “the deal is done, I have a signed contract, so let’s get ready for the fight.” That was the only time I knew the fight was going to happen.

Orlando Salido is also fighting December 9. Should you both be successful, do you think a revenge fight with him would be next?

VASYL LOMACHENKO: Yes, sure but I don’t think he’s going to fight me because he already found, to him, a good excuse. He’s been saying, “I don’t need this bout. Lomachenko needs this bout. So because Lomachenko needs this bout you need to pay me good money.” That is just his excuse and Salido is nobody now.

Do you have any plans to fight above 130 pounds?

VASYL LOMACHENKO: I already said that I am ready to fight at 130 or 135, but that is not my job. Whoever is going to be put in front of me I will fight. It is not my job to organize the bouts. It is not my job to choose opponents. My promoters organize the bouts and whoever they put in front of me I am ready to fight at 130 or 135. I never passed on any of the bouts and I never passed on any of the opponents.

You recently said, “I am going to squash him.“ Will you be satisfied with anything other than a knockout?

VASYL LOMACHENKO: I said I am going to walk through him like a tank. They are two different things. I am going to walk through him like a tank and knock him out. They are two different impressions. I am like every single fighter – going into the ring I have in my mind ‘finish the bout before all the rounds are over and to get the victory before that. There is a good possibility that the fight will end before the twelfth round. I am not promising to knock him out but I am promising to squash him.

In Closing…

BOB ARUM: I just can’t wait for December 9th. We had a fastest sellout in the history of Madison Square Garden. Everybody who is anybody is going to be at the fight. We expect a tremendous rating on ESPN. This will be Loma’s second fight on ESPN. He is one of the tent poles in the ESPN-Top Rank boxing program. As far as this fight, it should be a tremendously interesting fight. Whether he’ll go up to 135 after this fight we’ll see. I know we have a tremendous offer for Loma to fight in Australia against Paul Fleming who will be fighting on December 13 and of course ultimately some time next year you’ll see Loma fighting for the lightweight championship of the world.

VASYL LOMACHENKO: Thank you very much for your attention and we’ll see you in New York!

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Top-rated pound-for-pound fighters and Olympic legends VASILY “Hi-Tech” LOMACHENKO.and GUILLERMO “El Chacal” RIGONDEAUX will go mano a mano in a collision of world champions, Next Saturday, December 9, at the The Theater at Madison Square Garden. This historic battle will mark the first time two-time Olympic gold medalists have fought each other professionally at the highest level. Lomachenko will be defending his World Boxing Organization (WBO) junior lightweight world title against the reigning World Boxing Association (WBA) super bantamweight champion Rigondeaux. The fight, which will headline a spectacular all-action card that will be will be televised live and exclusively at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT on ESPN and ESPN Deportes and stream live on the ESPN App, beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT.

Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with Roc Nation Sports and Madison Square Garden, tickets to the Lomachenko vs. Rigondeaux world championship event sold out two months in advance! It is Lomachenko’s second advance sellout in his past three fights. His April 8 title defense against former world champion Jason Sosa sold out the MGM National Harbor one month in prior to the event.

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For more information visit: www.toprank.com,www.espn.com/boxing;Facebook facebook.com/trboxing, facebook.com/trboxeo, facebook.com/espndeportes; Twitter twitter.com/trboxing, twitter.com/trboxeo, @ESPN @ESPNBoxeo
@ESPNDeportes. Use the hashtags #LomaRigo to join the conversation on Twitter.

NEW YORK (November 28, 2017) — MICHAEL “Mick” CONLAN, SHAKUR STEVENSON, and MIKAELA MAYER will complete their first season as professionals on the undercard of the historic collision between world champions VASILY “Hi-Tech” LOMACHENKO.and.GUILLERMO “El Chacal” RIGONDEAUX, Saturday, December 9, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. Lomachenko (9-1, 7 KOs) a native of Ukraine, will defend his World Boxing Organization (WBO) junior lightweight world title against the reigning World Boxing Association (WBA) super bantamweight world champion Rigondeaux (17-0, 11 KOs), of Cuba, marking the first time that two-time Olympic gold medalists have fought each other professionally at the highest level. The four-bout telecast, headlined by Lomachenko vs. Rigondeaux, will be televised live and exclusively at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT on ESPN and ESPN Deportes and stream live on the ESPN App.

The televised undercard will feature two-time Irish Olympian Conlan (4-0, 4 KOs), from Belfast, a former World Amateur Champion and Olympic bronze medalist, returning to The Garden for the first time since his show-stopping pro debut, which took place on St. Patrick’s Day in front of a sellout crowd. He will be taking on LUIS FERNANDO “El Titi” MOLINA (4-3-1, 1 KO), from Pablo Podest?, Buenos Aires, Argentina, in a six-round featherweight bout. Undefeated Top-10 contender CHRISTOPHER “Pitufo” DIAZ (21-0, 13 KOs), from Barranquitas, Puerto Rico, who won all his fights in 2017 by way of knockout, will battle CASEY “The Wizard” RAMOS (24-1, 6 KOs), from Austin, TX., in a 10-round bout for the vacant NABO junior lightweight title. The telecast will open with Newark’s 2016 U.S. Olympic silver medalist Stevenson (3-0, 1 KO), who spent most of his training camp sparing with Lomachenko, facing OSCAR “El Coyote” MENDOZA (4-2, 2 KOs), of Santa Maria, Calif. Mendoza has won all of his fights this year, with the last two coming by way of knockout. Their featherweight bout is scheduled for six-rounds. Stevenson made his Garden debut on May 20, where he stopped Carlos Suarez in the first round..

Streaming live on the ESPN App, beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT, (along with the televised card) will be: Mayer (2-0, 2 KOs), from Los Angeles, a three-time national champion who came within one victory of the medal round at the 2016 summer games in Rio de Janeiro, in four-round lightweight bout against former IWBF bantamweight world champion NYDIA “Dha Phenomenal” FELICIANO (9-8-3), from the Bronx, New York; two-time world heavyweight title challenger BRYANT “By-By” JENNINGS (20-2, 11 KOs), of North Philadelphia, PA., in an eight-round heavyweight bout, against DON “Mr. JBT” HAYNESWORTH (13-1-1, 11 KOs), of Greensboro, N.C.; and JOSE “Chocolatito” GONZALEZ (8-0-1, 2 KOs), from New York, in an eight-round featherweight bout against ADAN GONZALES (3-1-1, 2 KOs), of Denver, CO.

“New York is a market made for Mick, Shakur and Mikaela,” said Todd duBoef, president of Top Rank.. “Mick has proven that with his Irish base, Shakur’s Newark fan nucleus has spread beyond state and regional borders, and Mikaela’s general appeal is limitless. We have curated incredible supporting bouts to this historic night. Every fight is relevant and meaningful. They are all stepping up and on their way to eventually headlining major events at The Garden and other major venues.”

“I’m really excited to go back to The Garden. It’s my first time back since my pro debut and I’m looking forward to putting on another great show for all the fans that are coming too see me, it feels already like it’s my second home,” said Conlan. “December 9th is a huge night for boxing and I’m honoured to be a part of it! Make sure you tune in. This is show is not to be missed!”

“I’m feeling great and ready to perform again at Madison Square Garden. My fight there in May was one of my best so I’m excited to return and outdo my last performance on one of the biggest boxing cards of the year, Lomachenko-Rigondeuax,” said Stevenson. “I’m looking to really make a name for myself and put on an amazing performance for everyone at The Theater and all the viewers tuning in on ESPN. Getting the chance to spar with Vasyl Lomachenko, in this camp, prepared me well for this fight and showed me where I am skill-wise, mentally and overall as a boxer. I am ready for anything and I was blessed to have the chance to go out to California and spar with Lomachenko.”

“On December 9, you will see a more disciplined ‘Pitufo’ — one that fights intelligently, with more quickness, but above all else, one that fights with a lot of hunger inside the ring. I have been eating gym for a couple of months and I also ate gym during Thanksgiving. On December 9, I will eat Casey Ramos,” said Diaz. “I have a great opportunity in front of me. This will be the fight and the performance that will launch me to the next level. If Lomachenko and Rigondeaux don’t give the fans the kind of fight they want, ‘Pitufo’ Diaz will steal the show.”

“I’m beyond excited to fight in New York City, not only because I’ll be fighting at the historic Garden but because of the energy I know New York boxing fans are going to bring to the venue. They’re some of the most passionate fans in the United States and I want to give them a great show,” said Mayer. “I’m grateful to be with a promoter who sees what female boxers can bring to the table and I thank them for giving me such a stage to perform on. This is where the best of us women belong and I’m ready to show New York my skills.”

“I think of Madison Square Garden as the Mecca of Boxing. Lots of history and big names have fought there. I am looking forward to coming from Texas
and fighting there,” said Ramos. “Fighting for the WBO’s NABO title positions me to fight for a world title. That is what I will be seeking after beating Christopher Diaz. Fighting on ESPN makes it even more special where a fighter like me can
gain expansive fan base exposure. As far as Diaz in front of me I don’t think he’s fought the caliber of fighters I have — meaning he has less experience than me. So those advantages will be shown in the ring on December 9 — my experience and ability — in a win over Diaz.”

“There is a reason why this sport is called the Sweet Science. People may think it is easy to go into the ring on fight night but it is not. I’ve been working at our gym in Philadelphia getting into the right comfort zone while in the ring fighting. That means being at ease when you go to work and attack your opponent in special unique ways to make him unsettled and uncomfortable. There is a lot of thought process going on when you are inside the ropes. This is my fourth time at Madison Square Garden. Looking forward to it,” said Jennings.

Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with Roc Nation Sports and Madison Square Garden, tickets to the Lomachenko vs. Rigondeaux world championship event sold out two months in advance! It is Lomachenko’s second advance sellout in his past three fights. His April 8 title defense against former world champion Jason Sosa sold out the MGM National Harbor one month in prior to the event.

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For more information visit: www.toprank.com,www.espn.com/boxing;Facebook facebook.com/trboxing, facebook.com/trboxeo, facebook.com/espndeportes; Twitter twitter.com/trboxing, twitter.com/trboxeo, @ESPN @ESPNBoxeo
@ESPNDeportes. Use the hashtags #LomaRigo to join the conversation on Twitter.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, the December 9th bout between Vasul Lomachenko and Guillermo Rigondeaux will have a 2nd day weigh in clause.

Neither fighter will be allowed to blow up to more than 138 pounds immediately after the weigh-in, because at 9 a.m. on the day of the fight there will be a weight check, Top Rank vice president Carl Moretti told ESPN.

“Rigondeaux’s team broached the subject when we were negotiating the fight, so we went to Lomachenko and [manager] Egis [Klimas] with it,” Moretti said. “Lomachenko and Egis said they had no problem with it, so it’s in the contract.”

“It was one of the original negotiating points, and we had no problem with it,” Moretti said. “I don’t think there will be that big of a difference when they stand next to each other in the ring. There isn’t a big physical size difference between them, and Lomachenko doesn’t put on a lot of weight after the weigh-in anyway. Size is not what will determine the outcome of this fight.

“If the weight check was something that helped make the fight, which it did, then why not when it wasn’t a big problem? It showed just how much ‘Loma’ really wanted this fight.”

Sampson Boxing’s newest promotional signing, Argentinean amateur star and two-time Olympian, Alberto “Impacto” Melián, will be taking the “Lomachenko” route into the professional ranks by facing Diego Ricardo Santillan (23-2, 15 KOs) in an eight-round bout for his first professional fight on Saturday, December 16, at the Macro Stadium of the Argentine Federation of Boxing (FAB) in Buenos Aires.

A formidable foe for anyone, the 30-year-old Santillan, from Tartagal, Salta, Argentina, is a former Argentina (FAB), WBC Mundo Hispano and South American Bantamweight Champion. Melian, however, has requested the fast track to a world championship and promoter Lewkowicz has agreed.

“Alberto is regarded as one of the best Argentine amateur boxers ever and he’s ready for the best of the professional ranks. We hope to have him fighting for a world championship within 10 fights,” said Lewkowicz.

Lewkowicz says that Melian’s amateur credentials are enough to let him forego the usual development period of a new professional.

“In addition to his two Olympic appearances, Alberto fought in nearly every international tournament and won dozens of titles. He’s ready for anyone in the world going into his first fight. We have every confidence in him.”

Melián vs. Santillan will be televised live by TyC Sports Argentina.
About Sampson Boxing
After a very successful run as a matchmaker and adviser, Sampson Lewkowicz switched over to the promotional side of professional boxing in January 2008.

Sampson Boxing has grown into one of the world’s most prestigious promotional firms, representing many of the world’s best fighters and most promising young contenders.

Sampson Boxing has promotional partners all over North and South America, Africa, Asia, New Zealand, Australia, Europe and Central America and Sampson Boxing events have been televised on such premiere networks as HBO, Showtime, ESPN, VS. and several international networks.