{"id":66070,"date":"2017-02-18T12:15:24","date_gmt":"2017-02-18T17:15:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=66070"},"modified":"2017-02-18T12:15:58","modified_gmt":"2017-02-18T17:15:58","slug":"vasyl-lomachenko-returns-to-defend-his-title-on-april-8th-at-the-mgm-national-harbor-in-maryland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=66070","title":{"rendered":"Vasyl Lomachenko Returns to Defend his Title on April 8th at the MGM National Harbor in Maryland"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"vasyl-lomachenko-1\"<\/a>By Jeffrey \u201cItalian Medallion\u201d Cellini<\/strong><\/p>\n

On April 8, at The Theater at MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, MD., WBO World Junior Lightweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko, 7-1, 5 KO\u2019s, will put his title on the line against WBA Super Featherweight champion Jason Sosa, 20-1-4, 15 KO\u2019s. The fight between the two world champions will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing,.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would like to thank Jason Sosa, who unlike the other champions, agreed to take this fight to determine the best in this weight division, even though everyone knows I am the division\u2019s Papi,\u201d said Lomachenko. \u201cI moved up to 130 pounds hoping champions in this division were not cowards like those at 126 pounds. It looks like I was wrong. To all the other \u2018champions\u2019 in the 126 pound and 130 pound divisions, I say this to you, \u2018You are not champions, you are businessmen. Bad businessmen. By avoiding risks, you cheat the boxing fans and that is bad business.\u2019 I came to this sport to prove to myself and others that I am this big and loud champion. So, while all of you continue to hide from me, I am going forward to achieve my goals. My next step is on April 8. See you there!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe understand that this is the most difficult fight of our career due to the fact that we are fighting the best fighter \u2013 Vasyl Lomachenko \u2013 in the history of amateur boxing,\u201d said Sosa. \u201cThe beauty of all of this is that I only had three amateur fights and will prove to the world that we are by far the better fighter.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cVasyl Lomachenko is history in the making. He is the greatest fighter in the world,\u201d said Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum. \u201cVasyl is the total package \u2013 power, balance, skills, and tricks. And he will need to be at his best against Jason Sosa who has the talent to match his guts for getting into the ring with Vasyl. The fans watching it live at MGM National Harbor or on HBO are in for a helluva night.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know why this fight is happening. All of the boxing experts tell me Jason Sosa won\u2019t win one second of any round and who am I to quibble with experts. They are probably the same experts who picked Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump,\u201d said Hall of Fame co-promoter Russell Peltz. \u201cFunny things happen when the bell rings. Jason Sosa is a real fighter and real fighters fight. One of the problems in boxing today is that most of the fighters are not real fighters; they are businessmen. That\u2019s why guys ask for outrageous money to fight Lomachenko. Jason is cut from a different breed. He wants to find out how great he really is. What kind of fighter wouldn\u2019t want this kind of a challenge?\u201d<\/p>\n

Lomachenko became a two- division world champion in just 7 professional fights breaking the record set by Naoya Inoue of 8 fights set in 2014. He has a record of 6-1-0 (4 KO) in World Title fights and a record of 3-1-0 (2 KO) against former or current world titlists.
\nLast June, at the Capital Gym in Bejing, China, Sosa defeated then-defending champion Javier Fortuna by eleventh-round technical knockout to claim the WBA Super Featherweight crown. Sosa has made one successful defense of his title, winning a twelve-round unanimous decision over Stephen Smith back in November.<\/p>\n