Bob Arum targeting May 12th for Vasyl Lomachenko vs. Jorge Linares

Talks continue between representatives of Vasyl Lomachenko and Jorge Linares, and while things aren’t finalized yet, Lomachenko promoter Bob Arum has his eyes on a May 12th showdown at Madison Square Garden. Should the fight fall through, he also has a replacement foe in mind: Ray Beltran, who fights Paulus Moses for the vacant WBO lightweight title next week.

Next to a unification bout with Miguel Berchelt or the dream matchup with Mikey Garcia, Linares (44-3, 27 KO) is one of the most appealing matchups out there for Lomachenko (10-1, 8 KO), who has looked more or less invincible since losing to Orlando Salido in what was less a boxing match and more a gauntlet of testicular endurance. Linares is one of the few fighters out there to offer similar levels of speed and precision, though he’s held back by paper-thin skin and a tendency to fall apart when the going gets tough.

Beltran (34-7-1, 21 KO) is still a contender at age 36 and is big, mean, and powerful enough to be an interesting opponent for Lomachenko, but Linares is still the ideal. Worst comes to worst, I wouldn’t be too opposed to Beltran-Lomachenko if it meant we finally got Linares-Garcia, but let’s wait and see where this goes.