ASTUTE Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said that World Boxing Organization junior lightweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko is the next superstar of boxing and will be successor of eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao, who has retired and is now focusing on his role as a senator of the Philippines.
Arum has an obvious basis for his superstar reference to Lomachenko, with Boxing Scene reporting that “judging by the performance, particularly in winning the WBO belt on Saturday, Arum might not be far off in calling him boxing’s ‘next superstar.’’
Lomachenko was dynamic and dominant for five rounds before a series of lefts and a massive right hook floored champion Rocky Martinez. Afterward, Martinez admitted that Lomachenko’s punches came too fast for him to defend.
While the smashing victory brought Lomachenko’s professional record to a mere 6-1, the two-time Olympic gold medalist and three-time amateur world champion has already established his credentials on that level before turning pro in 2013.
Among those six victories are two title bouts.
Lomachenko, 28, also won the IBF featherweight crown two years ago.
The speed and devastating power he brought into the ring at the Theater at Madison Square Garden last weekend could scare off future opponents.
The Top Rank promoter, who steered Pacquiao’s career through eight divisional championships said: “‘I’ve been telling everybody how great this guy is. You’ve been reading how great this guy is. Muhammad Ali, the greatest of all time. This Vasyl Lomachenko (is) the greatest of our time. He really is. I mean you’re going to see performances from this guy that you’re not going to believe down the road. He’ll fight anybody.”