Ukrainian Connection! Lomachenko-Sosa and Undercard Analysis

By Geoff
- Tweet
- Pin It
Updated: April 6, 2017

HBO has been airing less and less boxing over the past few years and the reason for that could be a myriad of reasons from lack of ratings to the Execs’ belief that boxing isn’t worth spending more money on. They could be right about that. The reality is that promoters, belt organizations, and the networks themselves have been sabotaging boxing for a long damn time. Airing fights on the same night on different networks, destroying ratings, promoters not wanting their best to fight their rival promoters’ best. Boxing organizations bumping unworthy fighters to the top of the list. I could go on and on but I am thankful for this Saturday’s card, which is stacked with talented fighters from top to bottom. This card is the Ukrainian connection basically.

Vasyl “Hi-Tech” Lomachenko 7-1(5 KO) vs Jason “El Canito” Sosa 20-1(15 KO)

This fight is for the WBO World Super Featherweight title that Lomachenko took from Roman Martinez in dominant fashion and ended with a highlight reel knockout. “Hi-Tech” then defended it against previously undefeated top rated, Nicholas Walters late in 2016 in another dominant performance, which culminated in a “No Mas” by Walters. This fight should involve the WBA World Super Featherweight that Jason Sosa upset and knocked out previously undefeated Javier Fortuna (31-1) for. Sosa defended this against Stephen Smith in a one sided fight late in 2016. Some fuckery involving the million WBA belts led to El Canito losing the belt for accepting the fight against Lomachenko.

Lomachenko’s Best Wins: Gary Rusell MD, Nicholas Walters RTD

Lomachenko really can do everything in the ring. Footwork, speed, boxing iq, movement. He just really has it all and it is difficult to think of him losing to many fighters in and around his division. I expected him to beat Nicholas Walters comfortably but not like that. Nobody saw that “No Mas” coming and Walters was undefeated and had run through good fighters along the way. Lomachenko made him look painfully average.

Sosa’s Best Wins: Javier Fortuna KO, Stephen Smith UD

It is somewhat surprising that Jason Sosa is in this position right now, but it’s testament to his hard work and perseverance. In his fight against Nicholas Walters in 2015, he received a controversial draw that most felt Walters won going away. He fought well in that fight but not well enough to avoid an L. He came back in a title fight against Javier Fortuna that he was probably losing and shocked everyone with a knockout in the 11th round.

Lomachenko pretty much should be a favorite in almost every fight he takes now. He is one of the greatest amateur fighters ever and is already a two Division champion in only 8 fights! Sosa is a strong fighter and can really get his punches flowing. He also shows some solid head movement at times but he was a bit out of sorts against the movement against Fortuna until his power really took over. Sosa’s only chance is to really go in there and rough Lomachenko up. Lomachenko UD

Oleksandr Usyk 11-0(10 KO) vs Michael Hunter 12-0(8 KO)

This fight is for the WBO Cruiserweight title that Usyk won over Krzysztof Glowacki 26-0(16 KO) and defended against Thabiso Mchunu 17-3(11 KO). Cruiserweight is a hot division with some great fighters but once we go that high up in weight, unfortunately, all the attention goes to the Heavyweight division. Usyk is the more schooled fighter with a great amateur background and also has the better resume in the pros. He can box, move and has shown power with a 91% KO ratio. His combinations while switching angles are amazing. He is like the Lomachenko of Cruiserweights if you needed a comparison. Michael Hunter is no slouch and was a former Olympian(lost against Beterbiev). He’s undefeated but hasn’t faced much competition in his career. He possesses a nice jab and puts his punches together well. He also has very good movement for a guy his size.
These fighters are around the same size with Hunter standing at 6’2” with 79 ½” reach vs Usyk’s 6’3” with a 78” reach. The difference here is schooling and technicality. Hunter tends to get a bit wild with his punches and because of that, expends more energy than he needs to. I think Usyk will take advantage of that for as long as the fight lasts. Usyk by KO.

Oleksandr Gvozdyk 12-0(10 KO) vs Yunieski “The Monster” Gonzalez 18-2(14 KO)

This is a Light Heavyweight scrap with the winner looking to challenge for a title. Gvozdyk is looking to keep his record pristine while Gonzalez is looking for an actual win of substance on his resume. Gvozdyk is coming off a RTD over Isaac Chilemba who had never been stopped before. Gonzalez is coming off two TKO’s in one star fights (according to boxrec!). At this point Gonzalez is a gatekeeper at this point, with his two step up fights resulting in losses to Jean Pascal and Vyacheslav Shabranskyy.

Gvozdyk is a skilled boxer puncher and his style should mesh well with Gonzalez’s rough and tumble approach in the ring. He’s as talented as his fellow Ukrainian fighters on the card. Expect him to jab and outbox Gonzalez and counter him repeatedly. Chilemba fought a lot of tough fighters and avoided being stopped until facing Gvozdyk. Gonzalez similarly has never been stopped. I’m going with Gvozdyk by KO. First to stop Gonzalez.