Golden Boy Promotions have pulled the plug on a super-fight early this summer between Vasyl Lomachenko and Jorge Linares.
The scintillating showdown was to have been held on May 12 and was to have been screened on ESPN.
But that would have pitched it directly against the mouth-watering rematch between Gennady Golovkin and Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez which Oscar de la Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions are staging on HBO the same night.
Lomachenko has made a massive impact in boxing since starting his career just four years ago. He has ten wins, eight inside the distance, and just one defeat and that was his second time out against Orlando Salido, who won a split decision but lost his WBO featherweight title after weighing in over the limit.
Since then Lomachenko has been hugely impressive, displaying power, balance and hurtful punches in an armoury admired by the experts.
He fights for Bob Arun’s Top Notch and they are insistent he boxes on May 12 but the trouble is that WBA title holder Linares is represented by Golden Boy.
It clearly doesn’t make sense for them to be involved in two lucrative pay-per-view shows broadcast on the same evening.
It is a real shame as Linares is also a class act with the 32-year-old South American boasting a remarkable record of 44 wins with 27 of those inside the regulation number of rounds, and just three losses.
He is as tough as they come as well and would be a real threat to Lonachenko, from Ukraine, who is regarded by many as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the business.
The 29-year-old east European would step up a division to fight Linares, who has twice beaten Manchester’s Anthony Corolla as well as emerging triumphant against Hull’s Luke Campbell.
But Linares is now likely to face Raymundo Beltran on May 12 if he backs up his position as heavy favourite by beating 39-year-old Paulus Moses for the vacant WBO lightweight title this weekend.
The Mexican is also a warrior and has knocked out 21 opponents in 34 wins but he has lost seven times. He would not be expected to beat Lomachenko, the WBO super-featherweight king, when he steps up a division for the fight on May 12.
Victory for Vasyl would make a unification battle with Venezuelan Linares inevitable.
Who wins if Lomachenko and Linares go to war?
