How Vasyl Lomachenko makes fighters quit

Vasyl Lomachenko quipped that he should change his name to ‘No-Mas-Chenko’ after forcing yet another fighter to quit at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.

The once-beaten Ukrainian fighter is, of course, referring to the classic 1980 bout between ‘Sugar’ Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran which saw the fearsome Duran quit mid-fight, reportedly by shouting “No Mas! No Mas!”

Lomachenko faced fellow two-time Olympic gold medalist Guillermo Rigondeaux in New York this past weekend in an appetizing champion-versus-champion bout.

Rigondeaux, the 122-pound champion, was moving up two weight classes to chase the WBO junior lightweight crown.

‘Rigo’ was the most credentialed fighter Lomachenko had met as a pro, but even a blind man could see that he was no match for ‘Loma’.

In an absolute masterclass, Lomachenko outclassed and outworked his Cuban rival, who was too old and too small to bother the third-ranked pound-for-pound fighter, according to The Ring Magazine.

Rigondeaux never landed more than three punches in a round and wore that frustration on his face all fight.

The 39-year-old, who had not lost since 2003 as an amateur, simply had nothing for Lomachenko – and he knew it.

By the end of the sixth, he trailed 60-53, 59-54 and 59-54 on the judges’ scorecards when he refused to get off his stool for another round, citing a hand injury.

“I injured the top of my left hand in the second round,” he said post-fight, eliciting a chorus of boos from the unforgiving New Yorkers.

“He’s a very technical fighter. He’s explosive. I’m gonna come back because that’s what I do. The weight was not a factor in this fight. It was the injury to my hand.”

Rigondeaux is now the fourth Lomachenko victim in a row to commit boxing’s cardinal sin: quit.

(AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Jamaican puncher Nicholas Walters blamed his self-enforced 11-month layoff for his poor performance against Lomachenko, later admitting “it would be stupid” to get off the stool for another round.

Jason Sosa withstood nine frames of being played with like a cat would a mouse before his trainer threw in the towel.

Miguel Marriaga was thoroughly dominated and knocked off his feet twice before his corner intervened, preventing their fighter from taking further damage.

“Listen, the only thing I can say is you guys are seeing something really special,” Lomachenko’s promoter, Top Rank chairman Bob Arum told the press post-fight.

“The body of work from this kid is something that is virtually incredible. I’ve never seen anything like this. I never have. He gets these guys, he frustrates them, it looks like he’s gonna knock them out, and they quit because they can’t answer back. This is something really unique. Rigondeaux goes in with Lomachenko, and he is totally bewildered. He can’t hit him with anything.”

Arum, as a typical promoter, usually soaks every statement in a thick coat of hyperbole but, for once, there isn’t a hint of exaggeration in that quote.

Lomachenko doesn’t just hurt an opponent’s face with his non-stop attack of lefts and rights, he also hurts their prime and their ego, following the blueprint laid by Leonard against Duran almost four decades ago.

In 1980, Leonard clowned the raging bull from Panama. He pandered to the crowd with the Ali shuffle. He danced away from punches. The Olympic gold medallist even poked out his chin and dared Duran to hit him.

He couldn’t.

Leonard didn’t beat the tar out of Duran until he quit, he clowned the most feared fighter in the world and embarrassed him in front of millions.

Lomachenko has taken Leonard’s unforgettable performance and pushed it to another level.

Watching Lomachenko fight, it feels like he possesses an unfair advantage, as if he’s playing the game with all the cheat codes turned on.

Rigondeaux is a top-of-the-food-chain fighter, who was prominently featured on every respectable top ten pound-for-pound list, and he achieved almost nothing after 18 minutes in the ring with Lomachenko.

When he loaded up with his best shots, he hit nothing but air. And before he could even think about his next action, a picture-perfect jab was pumped in his face.

Plain and simply, it’s a demeaning experience to fight the great Lomachenko.

When asked post-fight by Fight Hype whether he mentally or physically breaks opponents, the 29-year-old prodigy smiled and said “both.” It’s hard to disagree with that.