By Sevak Sarkisian:

 The month of November has certainly been a great one for boxing fans around the world with great match ups that took place. However, this Saturday is arguably the most enticing match up of not only this month but of the year.  Two time Olympic Gold medalist and current reigning WBO super featherweight world champion Vasyl Lomachenko (6-1 4KO’s) will be stepping back into the ring to take on former WBA featherweight word champion and power puncher Nicholas Walters (26-0 21KO’s) this upcoming Saturday November 26th.  The bout will take place at Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and will be televised live on HBO.  

Vasyl Lomachenko has had an extensive amateur career to say the least with a record of (400-1) and two Olympic gold medals.  He is arguably the best amateur boxer that ever lived and has been developing well as a pro even though he has been in with stiff competition from the get go.  In only his second professional bout, he faced Orlando Solido for the WBO title that Solido vacated by not making weight for the bout.  Solido also managed to re hydrate about 18 pounds after the weight in over night.  Regardless, despite Lomachenko’s lack of experience in the pro game he put up a great effort and fought a good fight and even had solido back peddling the end of the fight. Even in a losing effort, Lomachenko showed not only his talent but his mental toughness and grit.  After watching that fight I instantly became a fan because of the potential he showed.  Fast forward to five professional fights later and the two time Olympic gold medalist has developed into a great pro and is not far from being a complete fighter.  Since that fight, Lomachenko has become a two division world champion with wins over Gary Russell JR and Roman Martinez.  Vasyl Lomachenko stands at 5’6 in height and possesses a 65 ½ inch reach. He is extremely athletic and has great hand and foot speed. He also fights out of a southpaw stance and possesses great foot work.  However, Vasyl isn’t all just flash because he is also mentally tough and determined as a fighter can be.  

Nicholas Walters on the other hand is a good fighter in his own right.  He is the former WBA featherweight world champion and holds wins over the likes of Vic Darchinyan, Nonito Donaire and Miguel Marriaga.  He stands at 5’7 in height and possesses a 73 inch reach.  He is an aggressive minded fighter with a sledge hammer like right hand that is capable of shutting anyone’s lights out.  He is a true power puncher and has a decent skill set to go along with it.  He is also on the bigger side for the weight class and will have a size advantage over Lomachenko.  He also usually re hydrates a good amount after weigh ins and is always the bigger man in the ring come fight time.  

This fight is a good example of what the sport of boxing is all about!  It’s the two best guys in a weight class facing off in their physical primes.  Over the past year, I have been noticing more match up’s like this including Crawford v Postol and of course Ward v Kovalev.  I truly hope the sport continues this trend because that’s the reason why we all became boxing fans in the first place.  I’m looking forward to this fight just like any other fight fan in the world and one thing is certainly guaranteed in this match up, explosion!