This Saturday night at the Madison Square Garden Theater in New York City and on HBO, Vasyl Lomachenko (9-1) takes on Guillermo Rigondeaux (17-0) in defense of his WBO world 130 pound title. The fight pits two men who have won Olympic gold medals two times for the first time in the pro ranks. Both men are currently top five on most of the pound for pound lists out there and a highly technical bout is expected.
Vasyl Lomachenko will enter the fight as the favorite. He is the bigger fighter, as Rigondeaux is being asked to move up to weight classes to face “Loma.” Lomachenko is also the younger fighter and his high-action style of boxing has captured the imagination of the boxing world. Rigondeaux has remained undefeated but his highly technical style is more defensive and he has been labelled a fighter whose fights are not crowd pleasers. But do not count Rigondeaux out just yet. At 35 years old, the Cuban remains one of the elite boxers of modern times. Rigondeaux is the WBA’s world champion at super bantamweight but “Rigo” found that most of the competition in that weight class avoiding him. Even at 126 pounds, Rigondeaux is considered a cut above most of the world titlists and a man to be avoided.
One thing is going to decide this fight and it will decide it early. Rigondeaux, as the smaller man and the likely counter-puncher, is going to need to generate power and get to Lomachenko with his counterpunches. What makes the fight interesting is that Rigondeaux has displayed fierce, one punch knock out power as a pro. Will he still have it with eight more pounds to carry?
Below are the odds for several of the support fights on the card. Heavyweight Bryant Jennings (20-2) returns in eight round action as he takes on Don Haynesworth (13-1-1) . Jennings is looking to win his second fight in a row since taking all of 2016 off. Haynesworth has a lot to prove, as Jennings is just his second opponent with a losing record. Also on the card is popular Irish fighter Michael Conlan as he is facing Luis Fernando Molina (7-3-1) looking to notch his fifth pro win.
The books do not have the evening’s co-feature listed as undefeated Christopher Diaz (21-0) takes on Casey Ramos (24-1) for the vacant WBO North American title at suoer featherweight. Check back later in the week for changes and additional lines.
Madison Square Garden – New York, New York – ESPN
Featherweight 12 rounds –
Guillermo Rigondeaux +335
Vasyl Lomachenko -420
Heavyweight 8 rounds –
Don Haynesworth +2700
Bryant Jennings -5800
Featherweight 6 rounds –
Luis Fernando Molina +3250
Michael Conlan -7500
