Jorge Linares Vs Vasyl Lomachenko: A Genuine Pound-for-Pound Matchup Coming this May!

By Tyler “The Miracle Man” White

On Saturday May 12, 2018, an epic showdown between two of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world is set to take place, for the WBA Lightweight World Title. Jorge Linares will be defending the title which he currently holds (WBA), against the WBO Super Featherweight Champion Vasyl Lomachenko.

This fight is set to be a potential classic between two incredibly skillful and athletically gifted fighters.

Lomachenko has been pretty much untouchable throughout his previous fights, with the exception of his loss to the tough and rugged Orlando Salido, in only his second professional contest where he tried to capture the vacant WBO title.

With Linares being on fine form and after a string of successive victories, could he be the first man in Lomachenko’s professional career, since the one and only loss so far, to give him problems? Stylistically I believe that he very well could be!

With Linares’ speed, angles, combinations and slick boxing style, he has a lot more to offer ‘Loma’ than his previous opponents have, however, it seems that whatever the Ukranian’s past opponents have bought to the table, he has always had an answer to; so, this could be much of the same again.

However, “Hi-Tech” will be coming up in weight to fight Jorge Linares and as well as this, it is evident from previous fights that Linares will be even heavier when he steps into the ring and has fully refuelled and hydrated; so this could play a significant part in the contest and the final result.

After an incredibly successful amateur career (396-1 with that 1 loss avenged), Lomachenko now as a Professional fighter, has a habit of making everyone he fights look ordinary, even against the two biggest threats he’s faced, Guillermo Rigondeaux and Nicholas Walters. Lomachenko was able to do this by setting them up, hitting them with ease, manipulating them and then just gliding off; out of their reach.

Linares is a lot more seasoned as a pro in comparison to ‘Loma’ and has had more testing fights throughout his career and so as a result, I can see him having more answers than any of Lomachenko’s previous opponents. The Venezuelan fighter, will also have a slight height and reach advantage over Lomachenko, which I could see potentially making things a lot harder than usual for the smaller fighter, especially with Linares’ speed and explosive power sitting at the end of his long punches.

This contest should prove to be a really interesting one and I think it could be one of the hardest fights of their respective careers, not necessarily physically, but more stylistically and technically – I can see it being a real; pure thinking fight, with little bursts of action and toe-to-toe explosions.

Interestingly, as I have been putting this post together, Linares has parted ways with his longtime trainer Ismael Salas. This could be a defining factor in the Lightweight Champion’s performance come the 12th may and it could either turn out to be one of the best or one of the worst moves he has made in his professional career!

Either way, Linares’ now former trainer has said in an interview with ‘The Boxing News’, that he will need “an expert [trainer] with experience, a person who can guide him the right way for what will be a big, complicated chess-match of a fight; he will need a master game-plan.”

As a fan of both boxers, I cannot wait to see this contest unfold and will be following the build-up with much anticipation. May the best man win!

[si-contact-form form=’2′]