Former pound-for-pound king Vasiliy Lomachenko is ready for the next chapter. Eight months after losing an undisputed lightweight title match to Teofimo Lopez, “Loma” returns Saturday night in a 12-round lightweight bout against Japanese contender Masayoshi Nakatani at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.
In the 10-round middleweight co-feature, undefeated sensation Janibek “Qazaq Style” Alimkhanuly will fight former world champion Rob “Bravo” Brant.
Both fights will stream live and exclusively on ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, with undercard bouts set to begin on ESPN+ at 7:15 p.m. ET/4:15 p.m. PT.
At the final press conference, this is what the fighters had to say.
Vasiliy Lomachenko
“I can’t wait to be back in the ring. I’m very excited and I want to show my best skills. I want to prove to myself, my family, my friends, my team, who I am in the ring.”
“He is a tough guy. He has the height and the reach. I think he is a very good boxer. That’s why he was my choice as an opponent.”
“It’s great to have fans {in the crowd}. They push us in the ring. They give us energy.”
“I have a fight this Saturday, and after that, we can talk about a rematch. I want it!”
Masayoshi Nakatani
“A fellow Japanese fighter {Inoue last week} having a great performance is very motivating for me.”
“This is a fight that I have to win and that I want to win.”
“When this fight came up, I felt that it is the biggest fight of my career. But getting the fight doesn’t mean anything. I must win for this fight to mean something. I’m going to win!”