Former pound for pound king Vasyl Lomachenko is set for a reload Saturday, June 26, at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. His opponent for the match is veteran Japanese fighter, Masayoshi Nakatani. It is the first fight for Lomachenko since losing the WBA, WBO, and IBF lightweight titles to Teofimo Lopez last October.
The six-foot Nakatani promises to be a tough out and once went the distance with Teofimo Lopez. Lomachenko says he chose Nakatani to start his comeback because he wanted a real challenge against a true contender.
The former champion says Nakatani is an experienced fighter who has proven he can compete against the highest levels of competition. He says Nakatani represents “the perfect challenge for me.”
But what many boxing fans want to know is if Lomachenko will earn a rematch with Teofimo Lopez if he defeats Masayoshi Nakatani. Lopez is on record saying he will not grant the former champion a rematch. But boxing fans still hope the fight will happen.
Teofimo Lopez cites a lack of respect from the Lomachenko camp as the reason he does not want to do future business with them. One example he cites is the lack of a rematch clause in the contract for the first fight. Others theorize that the rally Vasyl Lomachenko made in the second half of the contest caused Lopez to look elsewhere for future opponents.
Vasyl Lomachenko maintains that a right shoulder injury was the cause of his slow start in the Lopez fight. He is confident that a Lomachenko-Lopez rematch would play out quite differently.
The promotional ties between the two fighters may make a rematch inevitable. Bob Arum promotes both Lopez and Lomachenko. Arum says the two fighters may face each other soon if both are successful in their next fights. Arum adds, “a rematch on pay-per-view” makes business sense.