Vasiliy Lomachenko leaves behind incredible boxing legacy
One can not overstate the success Vasiliy Lomachenko had in the sport of boxing. The Ukrainian twice won gold medals at the Olympics. First, in Beijing in 2008, and then in London in 2012. After transitioning into pro competition, he won championships at featherweight, super featherweight and lightweight, with the latter being a unified title reign. He lost just three times as a pro, with two of those losses coming against world class foes in Teofimo Lopez and Devin Haney. He was once considered the top pound-for-pound fighter in the sport.
In his last fight, Lomachenko defeated George Kambosos Jr. by stoppage. Australia’s Kambosos was one of the first to react to the news of Lomachenko retiring.
“I felt it was coming,” he told Brian Cambell. “It was an absolute honor to fight that man, I was pinching myself throughout. I have been in with some really big names but this a [Hall of Famer] and a guy I admired coming up the amateurs. I wish him the best.”
Boxing promoter Bob Arum also shared his thoughts on the Ukrainian’s retirement.
“It’s been an honor for all of us at Top Rank to promote the pro boxing career of Vasiliy Lomachenko,” he wrote on social media. “He was a generational champion, and we will all miss his participation in the sport.”
