Three-division titleholder Vasiliy Lomachenko has the WBA and WBO lightweight titles in his grasp already, and is aiming to fully unify the division at some point.
But Lomachenko says that goal is not leading him to look past Anthony Crolla on Friday, when the two meet in Los Angeles, live on ESPN+. He insists that he’s taking the underdog seriously:
“He has very big experience, he has very good defense. For me, I just need to show my best style and ‘Style Loma,’ that’s it. For me, I always focus very seriously for all my opponents, so he’s very dangerous, so I’m focusing.”
Lomachenko (12-1, 9 KO) is expected to win in style here, as Crolla (34-6-3, 13 KO) is a good fighter, but seen by all as at least a level below the Ukrainian. The fight is happening right now for two reasons: Crolla is Lomachenko’s WBA mandatory, and IBF titleholder Richard Commey hurt his hand in a February fight, taking him out of a possible April showdown.
As mentioned earlier, Lomachenko is a -10000 favorite on some sportsbooks, so this is seen as all but a gimme, not because Crolla is bad, more because Lomachenko is believed to simply be that good.