No one should question Manny Pacquiao’s greatness after all the accomplishments he has achieved in the sports of Boxing. However, Vasyl Lomachenko’s latest win over Brit Luke Campbell to add the WBC lightweight strap and move one fight closer to unifying all major belts at 135-weight class has prompted a hot debate on who is the greater fighter: Is it the Pacman or Hi-Tech?
Boxing columnist Teodoro Medina Reynoso believed Lomachenko’s body of work as a pro boxer still pales in comparison to Pacquiao, boxing’s first and only eight-division world champion.
In his piece on PhilBoxing.com, Reynoso opined the quality of opponents Lomachenko faced at 126, 130 and 135 pounds wouldn’t even hold a candle to the calibre of fighters Pacquiao fought and dominated to reach superstardom.
“But the latest claims and theories being circulated by Loma nuthuggers in the USA have really hit the height of boxing apostasy. Lomachenko as the best fighter ever at 126-130 lbs and without any controversy, one of the greatest ever to lace a pair of gloves?
Lomachenko's current drive to unify all belts at lightweight is better than winning world titles in many weight classes? Oh come on,” Reynoso wrote on PhilBoxing.
On a different level
While Lomachenko easily outclassed the likes of Guillermo Rigondeaux, Gary Russell Jr.
Jorge Linares, and recently Campbell, Pacquiao’s epic slugfests with the legendary Mexican trio of Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, and Juan Manuel Marquez - all are top-10 pound-for-pound fighters in their primes – were just on a different stratosphere.
It’s true that Lomachenko can wind down as the greatest lightweight champion ever when all is said and done.
After all, he’s an IBF strap away from becoming the undisputed king at 135-pound for the first time since Alexis Arguello ruled the weight class in the 1980s.
On the other hand, Pacquiao is gunning for the most glorifying title in boxing. He wants to be the greatest fighter of all time, and as veteran boxing analyst Max Kellerman and other boxing legends have religiously preached, the Pacman has the case to be mentioned on the same page as Sugar Ray Robinson and Muhammad Ali.
That’s how great Pacquiao is. He’s just on a higher league.
Up next for Loma, Pacman
Again, with the lopsided 12-round unanimous decision win over Campbell last week, Lomachenko now has the WBC, WBO, WBA and the Ring Magazine strap in his tow. That leaves the IBF title, currently owned by Richard Commey of Ghana, as the missing piece in his quest to become the undisputed champ at lightweight.
Bob Arum and Top-Rank promotions are expected to arrange a fight between Lomachenko and Commey as soon as possible, making sure that their Ukrainian fighter will have the opportunity of becoming an undisputed champ by next year.
As for Pacquiao, he will take hiatus from boxing for the remainder of the year after two scintillating wins over Adrien Broner and Keith Thurman.
The WBA (Super) welterweight champion is in line to face the winner of the Errol Spence vs. Shawn Porter unification fight in September, but the names of Mikey Garcia and Danny Garcia have also surfaced as potential foes.
