On this day in 2017, one of boxing’s elite fighters produced a statement victory.
Joe Rogan believes that Roy Jones Jr. was robbed of an Olympic gold medal in 1988 following his highly controversial loss to Park Si-hun.
This may have only made the boxing legend’s appreciation for two fighters that did achieve this goal even higher.
Vasiliy Lomachenko recently explained why he decided to retire from the sport earlier this year at 37 years old.
Many regard him as potentially the greatest amateur boxer of all time but during his pro career, he faced off with another fighter that had achieved incredible things before turning professional.
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Where does Vasiliy Lomachenko rank among the greatest of all time?
Do you consider Loma to be a GOAT contender? Let us know in the comments.
Vasiliy Lomachenko made Guillermo Rigondeaux quit after six rounds in 2017
While Vasiliy Lomachenko has been linked with a comeback in recent times, what he achieved in a 21-fight pro career is sure to stand the test of time.
On December 9 of 2017, he clashed with Guillermo Rigondeaux at Madison Square Garden in New York for the WBO super featherweight title.
Roy Jones Jr. called the bout “the best professional fight that has ever been made” on paper when previewing the highly-anticipated clash with CBS Sports.
That’s thanks to both men’s stunning amateur pedigrees, with Lomachenko going 396-1 and winning Olympic gold medals in 2008 and 2012.
Rigondeaux fought roughly 475 times as an amateur, losing 12 times, and also achieved two Olympic gold medals in 2000 and 2004.
However, the Cuban’s experience and incredible defensive capabilities weren’t a match for Lomachenko on this particular night.
Rigondeaux retired on his stool after round six due to claiming that he’d broken his left hand early on in the fight, which was evident by how little he was throwing it.
By the time of the stoppage, Lomachenko was already significantly in front on the scorecards before handing his opponent his first defeat in 14 years.
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Vasiliy Lomachenko coined a new nickname after beating Guillermo Rigondeaux
Guillermo Rigondeaux’s injury was an incredibly unfortunate circumstance but him retiring in round six wasn’t anything new to Vasiliy Lomachenko.
In fact, he’d made his three previous opponents also concede before the final bell, stopping two of them in the seventh round and one in the ninth.
When speaking after the fight, he joked about changing his nickname to ‘No Mas Chenko’ because of his tendency to make people quit.
Despite this, Lomachenko stated that it wasn’t a “big win” for him due to his opponent not fighting in his natural weight class.
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