This Lomachenko will have a hard time with Haney. What did the fight between the Ukrainian and Ortiz show?

On the morning of October 30, Vasily Lomachenko got his 17th victory in the professional ring, defeating Jamain Ortiz on points. After the fight, the Ukrainian said that he wants and is ready to fight against the undisputed world lightweight champion Devin Haney. But if all the circumstances leading up to the potential fight and the factors in the Vasily vs. Haney fight are the same as in the Lomachenko-Ortiz fight, it’s hard for the Ukrainian to count on winning. We explain why.

Lack of time to prepare

Even before the fight, we paid attention to the fact that the two months that Lomachenko spent preparing for the fight were too short to return to optimal shape after a long downtime. At a respectable age for Lomachenko, this is critically little if we are talking about top-level professional boxing.

Yes, the skills and boxing IQ of the Ukrainian played a role, but it was not easy for Lomachenko in the fight itself. One of the main problems of a long downtime is the loss of timing and the feeling of an opponent. Hence, it seems, Ortiz’s advantage in the early rounds and a large number of missed strikes.

Underestimated Ortiz

I think it was underestimation, not underestimation – after all, Lomachenko and Ortiz were in the same training camp, sparring and should have had an idea of ​​​​the strength of each other. But for most regular fans, Ortiz was a mystery, or even a relative no-name.

But after the fight, I think, the opinion about Ortiz will change. The American showed that he rightfully received his chance. He made full use of his strengths – speed and power, chose the right tactics for the fight (more on that below) and used the main quality for fighting Lomachenko – the lack of shyness in front of the Ukrainian. The American lost, no matter how trite it may sound, due to lack of experience and because he boxed with Lomachenko.

Change of tactics Lomachenko

The fight with Ortiz began unusually for Lomachenko. I mean that he went without intelligence, traditional for Ukrainian fights, in the first rounds of the fight. The reason for this is the American, who started the fight very briskly, clearly hit, provoking the occurrence of a hematoma, and forced Vasily to change tactics.

Yes, Lomachenko had to join from the second round, due to certain circumstances, perhaps it did not look as impressive as before, to go forward and, as a result, concede a lot. I would venture to suggest that Lomachenko’s actions were affected by the defeat from Lopez, when the Ukrainian turned on too late, losing the fight and losing four belts. But in a fight with a more experienced boxer, such a move may not work.

Lopez showed how to fight Lomachenko

Of the 19 fights held in the professional ring, Lomachenko fought the entire allotted distance in eight fights. Two of them – he lost, in six he won victories. If we talk about the losers, then Vasily lost to Orlando Salido in his first title fight, and then in the already mentioned fight with Lopez.

After the first lost fight, the Ukrainian fought two full 12-round fights, both championship fights against Harry Russell and Suriya Tatakhun. This was followed by 8 early victories (including wins against Rigondeaux, Linares and Walteres), including a rise in two weight categories, and the first who managed to stop this series was Jose Pedraza. After one fight, this achievement was able to repeat Luke Campbell. Well, after Lopez, Richard Commey managed to go the whole distance of the duel with Vasily. But another point is important here: Vasily defeated Pedraza, Campbell and Commey in one gate, while the fight with Ortiz turned out to be almost equal.

It was Lopez who showed how to box with Lomachenko, picking up the keys to Vasily’s “matrix”. This is a constant heavy jab, pressing, multi-hit combinations, good actions in defense – amplitude slopes and pulls, the use of one’s anthropometry and the lack of reverence for the Ukrainian. Yes, Ortiz did not have enough experience and skills, but, as the fight showed, a trained and trained young boxer, who also has good physical fitness, will cause a lot of problems for the Ukrainian.

The fight with “such” Lomachenko is not a problem for Haney

This is exactly what the absolute world champion Devin Haney is. He is younger than Ortiz, and much younger than Lomachenko – the difference between Devin and Vasily is 11 years. Haney has more experience – 29 fights in the professional ring, six of which are champions. He is well trained and teachable, and also knows how to draw conclusions: he won the second fight with Kambosos even more clearly than the first. And plus, Haney is not inferior in power to either Ortiz or Lopez.

But the most important point: for America, it is their Haney who is the main star of the division, and if so, then in a relatively equal fight, the victory on points will be given to him, and not to Lomachenko. And this factor also needs to be taken into account.

Will Lomachenko be at his best against Haney?

We hope so. In any case, I think he will allocate more time for preparation. Plus, Lomachenko’s mental attitude should be different. First, he will understand that he is not boxing against a conditional prospect, but against one of the main stars of the division. Secondly, to realize that the fight with Haney is his last chance to become the undisputed champion, given his age. Thirdly, Vasily has already made mistakes twice in the most important battles for the legacy – against Salido and Ortiz, in order to step on the same rake for the third time.

In other words, only the “best version of Lomchenko” can beat Haney. Otherwise, the Ukrainian may be in for a big disappointment.

Alexander Nosenko