After a shocking defeat to Teofimo Lopez in October last year, Vasyl Lomachenko is back again in the square ring this weekend to launch his comeback mission against the Osaka born Masayoshi Nakatani (19-1, 13KOs) at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
The Ukrainian southpaw after losing his titles (WBA super, WBC and WBO Light straps) hoped for a rematch to correct the wrongs but Lopez didn’t give in to his request. The former unified lightweight champion has therefore inspired himself to build his rank back for another world title shot with Nakatani who’s only defeat was ‘sponsored’ by the unified Lightweight king Teofimo Lopez.
“What inspired me to take this fight is the fact that I just lost all of my titles,” Lomachenko said
“I have to start from scratch and wanted to face a top contender.
Seeing how Teofimo Lopez struggled to defeat the then undefeated Japanese lightweight prospect, Loma isn’t going to take him lightly
“I didn’t want a (hand-picked) opponent. This guy gave Teofimo Lopez a very tough fight and I have prepared well for his challenge.
“He is strong, very tall and very long arms. He has experience at the top level, as he showed in a (competitive) fight with Lopez and the way he was able to beat Verdejo. This is the perfect challenge for me. I’ve always aimed to face the highest level of competition.” Loma explained.
Masayoshi Nakatani 32, who is yet to get a world title shot will go all out this weekend and try to overcome the wounded lion who wants his glory back. The highly ranked lightweight prospect after tasting his first defeat resumed his winning ways again when he finished off Puerto Rican Felix Verdejo in the 9th round after getting knocked down twice in round one and four and also knocking down his foe twice in round nine to grap the vacant WBO Inter-Continental light title in December last year.
The fight is not going to be an easy one especially for Lomachenko who is tipped to sail through with victory. Masayoshi Nakatani is the man to watch who could pull a surprise come fight night in Vegas.
By Winfred Worlanyo Siegu Yaw
Read more on www.boxinghana.com