Vasyl Lomachenko, Claressa Sheilds & Ray Beltran Are All Victorious – Fight Recaps
By Joshua “City” Brewer
The boxing weekend was pretty energetic the past few days with acton and major announcements. On Saturday, August 6th, live on ESPN, Vasyl “Hi-Tech” Lomachenko, 9-1, 7 KO’s, proved once again why he’s considered by many to be the number one boxer in the sport, pound for pound. He dispatched of the game, but overmatched Miguel Marriaga, 25-3, 21 KO’s in seven rounds. It was a brilliant performance as usual for the two time Olympic Gold medalist and if it weren’t a problem before, finding opponents willing to step in the ring with him will continue to be an issue. He’s by and far the class of 130 and some of the fighters who would offer a challenge are at higher weights. There’s only so far up that Lomachenko can go. There is also Guillermo Rigondeaux, 17-0, 11 KO’s, who’s been campaigning for a shot at Lomachenko and is willing to move up in weight. With Rigondeaux also being a two time Olympic Gold medalist as well, this would pit two of the most skilled technicians in boxing together in what would surely be a chess match. There’s no better time than now.
“Sugar” Ray Beltran, 34-7-1, 21 KO’s, continued his five fight wins streak in a tough majority decision victory over Bryan Vasquez, 35-3, 19 KO’s. It turned out to be a very tough fight for Beltran who’s been on a pretty lighting-hot run as of late. Beltran, has one of the most interesting stories in boxing. He’s literally fighting for his green card and each win seems to get him closer to that status. At 36 years of age he has to make the best of his boxing career. We’ll be following his next move.
On Friday, August 4th, Claressa “T-Rex” Shields, 4-0, 2 KO’s, headlined her second Shobox: The New Generation event when she dominated the previously undefeated Nikki Adler, 16-1, 9 KO’s, picking up a World Boxing Council (WBC) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) super middleweight title. The two time Olympic Gold medalist has helped to bring renewed energy and excitement to Detroit, and the the boxing world in general. The ceiling is without a doubt very high for this young fighter and more belts are surely in her future.
In other news, three prominent fighters, and future hall of famers, from the 2000s and 2010s have announced their retirement. Former long reigning heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, 64-5, 53 KO’s, ends his career coming off of what may be his most memorable fight of his career in a lost to Anthony Joshua. He’ll be joined by Mexican legend and multi-weight champion, “Dinamita” Juan Manuel Marquez, 56-7-1, 40 KO’s, and Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley, 33-2-1, 13 KO’s. The sport will truly miss each of these warriors and the new breed shall carry the sport forward.
Stay tuned boxing fans.
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