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Vinny’s Views: Vasyl Lomachenko Blows Out Nicholas Walters – Creates Shades of Sugar Ray Leonard – Roberto Duran “No Mas” Fiasco!

vasyl-lomachenko-1By Vinny “Glory Days” Lucci

Photo credit Chris Farina – Top Rank

The great fight that wasn’t to be. The stage was set at the Cosmopolitan in Vegas to what appeared to be a solid and outstanding year end matchup of two top ten fistic greats coming on the heels of promoter Bob Arum’s 2000th promotion over an illustrious 50 year career. Ukrainian super featherweight WBO champion Vasyl Lomachenko turned back the challenge of top contender Jamaican Nicholas Waters in seven completed rounds of boxing. Both boxers were expressionless throughout the entire fight even as pace picked up and Walters tried finding a higher gear inside himself to compete against the perpetual right lead foot pivots that propel Vasyl’s footwork into a category 3 tornado in which you simply can’t step to him or away from him.

Tony Weeks who in recent years has established himself as one of the premiere top referees in the world had very little to do in this fight. HBO cameras barely caught him in a frame until the third round. The action was clean, repetitive and a learning tool as to what young fighters should aspire to watching a master like Lomachenko on the job.

Rounds one and two were mirrors of each other in what appeared to be feel out rounds. Both fighters met in ring center and traded jabs in an attempt to gage distance and timing. Each fighter tried an occasional one/ two but their guards were held high in textbook fashion. In both stanzas, Vasyl wisely opened up the last 45 seconds of each round by turning up the pace and stealing rounds. While it looked like it was a clever Ray Leonard against Marvin Hagler technique to sway judges there was more apparently taking place then the untrained eye could detect. Round three continued in similar fashion.

What was really transpiring was the dominance underfoot. That is to say while Walters displayed his orthodox stance for leverage in absorbing combos and power shots he was giving away real estate in mobility. The tempo of fight had already been predicated and established as Lomachenko controlled everything with footwork. Remember how frustrated Canelo Alvarez was when he couldn’t land solidly against Floyd Mayweather, JR.? He’d fight harder playing into the web that was being spun. Ditto with Walters who came out in the fourth round trying to pick up the pace and land heavier punches, but was constantly getting countered.

One minute in he falls to canvas on a slip. While fans were treated to an improvement in action it still was a one sided round for the phenom who’s combos are simply so daft a trained eye cannot call the complete action sequences without the help of slow motion. Ringside commentators Jim Lampley and Max Kellerman, who happens to be the heir apparent to Bert Sugar as the world’s great boxing historian joined unofficial ringside score keeper Harold Lederman in praising the champions artistic defensive attributes and supernatural abilities favorably comparing him to the two of the greatest defensive wizards who ever lived: the immortal Willie Pep and Pernell Whitaker.

In round five we witnessed such dominance that Vasyl actually lowered his guard at times in a taunting fashion to sucker Nicholas into position for bigger counter shots by getting him frustrated and opening his guard up to throwing heavier leather in frustration. Yet scoring was problematic and on cruise control, another 10/9 round for champion.

Round six heated up to where a fight actually broke out between the two boxers. The harder Walters tried the more Vasyl found a home for his accurate counter shots. By now the commentators were off to Valhalla in praise as they reached a new utopian loft in which to perch the master before them. They all acknowledged the defensive pedigree kinship with former legends but exalted his higher punch output as his offense is nonstop perpetual motion to compliant the cheetah agility. Again, 10/9 Lomachenko

Round seven ignites in what looks like a strategic move to go to war and take chances in hopes of landing a big shot has backfired on the challenger. The champion has already disarmed him of his right hand it he needs to land his left hook with precision. Best round by far as he is rocked on four occasions looking bewildered as to what he could possibly do to negate the onslaught of one very confident champion who can shift into higher gears faster than my son can in his Camaro. While it never appears, the challenger is in danger of going down he is continually hit from blind angles and can’t defend against the ghostlike attack. Punch count for this round was 24/4 but the power shots had done more convincing work than previously thought at crack of bell.

Between rounds there is substantial conversation banding about in Nicolas’ corner. As Roy Jones, JR. pointed out his handlers were as impossible to understand by the language barrier as was the champion’s. When the bell rang to start the eighth round referee Tony Weeks was met with resistance from challenger who was not willing to come to ring center. The question was proposed three times. “Do you want to continue?” All three times Walters said no, and finally added, stop the fight. One of his corner men actually uttered the immortal phrase, “No Mas!”

Ringsiders and cable audience were both stunned and slightly appalled at the surrender. After all it was Walters talking “smack” leading up to fights promotion right into Friday’s weigh in where he comfortably stepped on the scales a half pound below the limit in a perfectly chiseled body. He entered the ring at 136 pounds. What was irritating as well as puzzling I wondered aloud what the hell happened to the “kill or be killed” mantra leading up to the showdown. Where was the “…..do or die” Walters spoke of?

The unnecessary stats that complete the equation had Lomachenko weighing in on the button at 130 pounds and entering the ring at 137. The champ proudly displayed a unique robe declaring his nickname “Hi Tech” but his garb looked more like an ad for a power soft drink. Is this a knock from yours truly? Hell no. This kid is so damn good and fast approaching a status all his own he doesn’t need a tag.
Final punch stat if you follow that jargon was 114/49.

Post-fight comments from victor had him asking for Vargas next, and calibrating that perhaps only Terence Crawford possesses the abilities on his level. Walters tried to explain his decision away giving both praise and credence to the mastery of Lomachenko’s assault and his own inability to overcome the firestorm. While I personally didn’t spit out my very expensive glass of Café’ Patron in disgust, (liquid is just too damn good) I did roll my eyes in disdain for a warrior who goes by the nickname the “Ax-Man” and who guaranteed a knockout victory.

Walters was content to literally just walk away without putting up a better fight. I can see how the nay-sayers would protest my protest but what the hell are these guys getting paid for? This was not like the recent bout of Kell Brook with a fractured eye socket. In that one literally seeing three versions of unstoppable middleweight champ Gennady Golovkin before him refused to accept his corners grace of submission without a fight. Recent outing of Canelo Alvarez had him breaking a thumb and still threw punches with conviction. Both heavyweight champ Deontay Wilder and future hall of famer Roy Jones, JR. fought on with torn biceps. Giving up at the half way mark simply because you’re outclassed and out manned in no reason to throw in the proverbial towel. I can picture Vinny Paz throwing a TV set out a window about now. How much harm he just did his own career will strictly be up to the public. While Arum has the smarts to match him again at featherweight, there is no guarantee his stock doesn’t fall as quickly as Nonito Donaire.

Back to the future…

HBO televised last week’s pay per view broadcast of the highly anticipated showdown between two of the sport’s top echelon boxers, Light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev and Andre Ward. The decision in Ward’s favor has ignited a weeklong debate over the controversy of the three judges’ scorecards who all had the challenger winning 114/113, even though it was crystal clear he lost the first half of fight and second round by two points because of the knockdown. He needed to win second half of fight convincingly and probably needed a knockdown to salvage a draw. …………….but he didn’t win all the rounds in the second half of fight as so keenly vocalized by none other than Roy Jones, JR.

Just before the 11th round, Ward’s trainer and mentor Virgil Hunter implored his man to “steal these last two rounds!” Steal is not a word one says with conviction when you have come from behind from near impossible odds. Last week I recapped the decision as “Bullshit!” After returning to scene of the crime and watching the bout again without the distractions of spectators, note taking and deadlines, I stand by my convictions!

I called the bout correctly last week giving only rounds 7, 8, 9, and 11 to the challenger. Max Kellerman has hedged ever so slightly in declaring he thought Kovalev won by a single point.

Stay tuned…

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