HBO Boxing Saturday Sees Lomachenko vs Sosa

HBO Boxing Saturday Sees Lomachenko vs Sosa – This Saturday night sees Bob Arum and his Top Rank Boxing for a seven-fight boxing card that will air on HBO. The event takes place just outside our nation’s capital, at the MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland.

The fight everyone is waiting for is the WBO world super featherweight title fight, between champion Vasyl Lomachenko (7-1) and Jason Sosa (20-1-4). From early on in Lomachenko’s pro career, it was apparent that Arum knew he had something special. The lone loss on his resume came in his second fight, when he lost to Mexico’s rugged veteran Orlando Salido with a featherweight world title on the line. It isn’t like he was blown out either, as Salido escaped with a narrow majority decision. Since then, Lomachenko has been nearly untouchable. He eventually won a world title at featherweight and then moved up to super featherweight. At 130 pounds, he has delivered stoppages of world champions Roman Martinez and Nicholas Walters and a move to the 135-pound lightweight division seems imminent.

Sosa does not like the fact that few people are giving him a chance. Sosa won the WBA version of the world title last year when he defeated Javier Fortuna and he successfully defended the belt in Monaco against England’s Stephen Smith. The lone loss of his career came way back in September of 2010 in his fifth pro fight. In December of 2015 he fought Nicholas Walters to a draw, which gives him a measuring stick and a common opponent with Lomachenko. Sosa is going to want to use Salido’s blueprint to slow Lomachenko down and Sosa feels he can execute the game plan better than Salido did. Most people are thinking “good luck with that.”

Saturday’s card is a chance to watch two top technicians as WBO world cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (11-0) returns to action to face Michael Hunter (12-0). Usyk is not as flashy as Lomachenko and as a cruiserweight, he is roughly 70 pounds heavier than “Hi Tech” but he has established himself as the class of the 200-pound weight class. Another reason to watch Usyk is that he could, conceivably, move up to the heavyweight division where the big paydays are. As for Hunter, he is a 12-0 professional who has a strong amateur background and was part of the much maligned 2012 U.S. Olympic team. He last fought in May of 2016 when he faced undefeated Isiah Thomas and won via unanimous decision by a wide margin. If he thinks he is going to out-box Usyk he should think again, as no one is picking Hunter to win. The books have Usyk and even wider favorite than Lomachenko for this weekend’s fight.

This weekend is a treat for fans of “The Sweet Science” as it is a chance to watch two of the best technical boxers out there in Lomachenko and Usyk.