Who will be named fighter of the decade for the 2010s?
Vasiliy Lomachenko
Record in decade: 12-1, 9 KOs (will fight Anthony Crolla on April 12)
When talking about a fighter being special, the first name that comes to mind is Vasiliy Lomachenko. His footwork is dazzling, as is his hand speed and the angles he throws punches from. It is all beautiful to watch, and fans should enjoy it while it lasts. Fighters like “Loma” don’t come around too often.
One of the greatest amateurs of all time, with a reported amateur record of 396-1 (including two Olympic gold medals), fans were excited to see his professional debut, and he wasted no time getting to business.
His first fight as a pro was a 10-rounder against Jose Ramirez who was then 25-3, before challenging veteran Orlando Salido for the vacant WBO featherweight title. Yes, he had a title shot in his second professional fight, which is not common.
This fight served as a rude awakening for Lomachenko. He quickly found out that there was more to the professional game than the amateurs, including “veteran” tricks that border on dirty.
Salido came in overweight, and repeatedly hit Lomachenko low, to the point where virtually any other referee would have disqualified him. Despite these obstacles, Loma nearly knocked Salido out in the 12th, but Salido survived and ultimately won a decision.
This was a learning experience for Lomachenko, who used the loss to become a better fighter. He has not looked back since, winning titles in three divisions, and looking dominant in most of his fights.
At one point, he made four opponents quit in a row, which earned him the nickname “No Mas-chenko,” a clever play on his last name. It is also worth noting that he was not cherry-picking these opponents who quit, Guillermo Rigondeux and Nicholas Walters were both world class fighters, and both said “no mas.”
His most notable wins are over Garry Russel Jr., Nicholas Walters, Guillermo Rigondeaux and Jorge Linares. He also has wins against Roman Martinez and Jose Pedraza, who are no slouches. That is a pretty solid resume for any fighter, let alone a fighter who has 13 professional fights.
It took him only 12 fights to win titles in three different weight classes, an absurd achievement. Of his 13 professional fights thus far, 12 have been title fights, and his 14th fight (which will happen on Friday on ESPN+) will also be a title fight.
Lomachenko did not make his professional debut until October 2013, so he missed nearly a third of the decade and was still able to put himself in the conversation of the decade’s best boxers. He is that good. So good, that even if his resume was subpar (which it isn’t), he should have to be considered based simply off of the eye test.