WARNING FOR LOMACHENKO
FIRST of all I want to say how impressed I was with the Vasyl Lomachenko-jorge Linares fight, which for me was one of the most interesting technical matchups in a very long time. What actually made the contest so spectacular in the end was the revelation that Lomachenko is in fact human, and that giving away close to 20lbs to his opponent on fight night left him struggling at times with the sheer size and aggression of Linares. The question now, then, is how far can Lomachenko go before his opponent’s weight advantage catches up with him?
I really hope that talk before the fight of a potential future tear-up with Terence Crawford at 140lbs or even a push on to welterweight will be shelved now, and we get to see Lomachenko chase unification at 135lbs with Mikey Garcia or perhaps more feasibly a clash with Gervonta Davis at super-featherweight. I’d hate to see Lomachenko’s magnificent talent blunted by the pursuit of money fights against bighitters miles above his natural weight. Andy Parsons
THE DIFFERENCE-MAKER
VASYL LOMACHENKO vs Jorge Linares – great scrap! Linares caught Lomachenko in the sixth with a sweetly timed straight right that knocked him down, but Lomachenko was more surprised than truly hurt. However, when Linares went down from a sharp, rib-bending left to the solar plexus in the 10th, it just drained the desire and fight right out of him – that was the difference. The fight was a great showcase of punch-variety, speed, tactics, brains, conditioning and good old fighting heart! Carl Corbin
REGRETS FOR HUGHIE? ALTHOUGH I felt Hughie Fury just edged it against Joseph Parker in September last year, had he performed anything like the way he did against Sam Sexton at the weekend he unquestionably would have won the WBO title. Why on earth did he not use his right hand against Parker the way he did against Sexton? He must really be kicking himself. Clearly Hughie would be a difficult opponent for most. I think Joe Joyce and Dillian Whyte should stay well clear of him – he would give them nightmares. Stuart Greenberg
LUCKY BUGNER
IN the May 10 issue, you asked four fight figures what they thought was the worst bit of boxing officiating they could recall. I was surprised that no one mentioned one of the most famous controversial decisions in British boxing history – when referee Harry Gibbs awarded the verdict to Joe Bugner against Henry Cooper in their heavyweight fight in 1971. As most boxing fans will know, there was an outcry about the result, not only because Cooper was the highly popular true gent of British boxing, and remained so until his passing, but mainly because he did enough that night to get the decision [In your opinion - Ed]. Not to take anything away from Bugner, though, as he subsequently went on to go the distance twice with Muhammad Ali and have a magnificent fight with Joe Frazier. C. Jones-evans
QUESTIONABLE CALLS
FOLLOWING on from the talk of bad officiating in the May 10 issue, the Sven Ottke-robin Reid decision is among the worst I’ve ever seen in the sport, along with Chris Eubank-michael Watson I, Muhammad Ali-ken Norton III and Lennox Lewis-evander Holyfield I. The worst performance by a referee is Jersey Joe Walcott’s in the Muhammad Ali-sonny Liston rematch. Surely it should’ve been declared No Contest? Mark Taha