Bloody Elbow set its expectations for the big boxing confrontation between Vasily Lomachenko and Teofimo Lopez. I also got quotes from Bad left hook Staff, which you can read here. Between us and BLH somehow we combine on Lomachenko, even though his odds are -400 are relatively small by his standards.

Can you believe this fight is free on ESPN or being broadcast on ESPN + if you don’t have ESPN TV? that’s cool.

Vasily Lomachenko vs Teofimo Lopez

Muki Alexander: For the first time ever, I am not comfortable choosing Vasily Lomachenko to win a fight. Arguably Lopez is the toughest killer hitter, and he’s more than just a hitman. I consider Teofimo to be more of a boxer boxer with a lot of sharpness in his shots, tremendous athletic abilities, and tremendous final abilities when someone is injured. On the flip side, Lopez has not yet been challenged by someone with L Machenko’s skill level … but that goes for everyone. Lomachenko may not be at his peak of age, but despite Tim Bradley’s talk about not being in his prime anymore, I see no signs of holding back. His angles, combinations, cardio, defensive skills, and ability to go from 0 to 60 with his size are unlike anyone else in the sport today. I wonder if Lomachenko would have been more cautious against Lopez’s authority, because even though Jorge Linares dropped him, it was more about balance and timing than real harm. There is serious intrigue here because you tend to go with Lomachenko by default, but Lopez appears to be especially talented and he’s the ultimate fighter with the tools to cope with the discomfort. I think we’ll see Lopez grab Blumachenko with a cross from the right early in the fight but Lomachenko adjusts and pulls away in a very competitive battle. What still worries me about Lopez is how sloppy his feet looked against Nakatane in the battle before Richard Comey’s domination. Vasily Lomachenko by unanimous decision.

Lucas Burdon (From the preview): It’s hard to imagine a scenario in which Lopez wins a decision without seriously harming Blumachenko at some point, but I don’t think there is anyone who is lightweight who has a better chance of managing that. He’s already announced a future move of 140 pounds and he’s going to be bigger than a Ukrainian, hitting hard, and he could be a little faster. He can not rely only on counters for this, and the key for him will be the body. Lomachenko’s multi-layered defense makes it extremely difficult to hit him cleanly on the head, but his body is a relatively easier target that Lopez should be able to find with his straight right. The early rounds will likely be extremely frustrating for Lopez, but he should use them to drain Luma’s energy as much as possible and increase his chances of catching up with him with something big later in the fight and making his strength a factor.

With all that said while there is a way to win for Lopez which is his best either in lightweight or underweight, Lomachenko is a favorite of -400 for a reason. I hope Lopez can push Lomachenko and there is every reason to believe that he can, but at the end of the day I expect the great Ukrainian player to outrun him and raise his hand again on Saturday. Vasily Lomachenko by unanimous decision.

from Bad left hook

Scott Crest: Lomachenko is not old, but it certainly wouldn’t be in its true peak form any longer, if it really was. On the other hand, Lopez 135 will probably not be much longer; If it weren’t for this fight, it might already have gone to 140. So luckily, we got this the only time it could actually happen.

I think Teofimo Lopez is a really good fighter with the real potential to be cool. He’s the biggest guy here, the natural lightweight. He’s young, quick, die-hard, and he’s got that real kind of bravado that shows up in even his quieter moments, when he’s not putting on an offer to talk trash. I don’t think he has any fear of Lomachenko or a real fear of this battle.

If Lopez gets Loma – or someone else – with something big and well-timed, he can totally kick him out. But I don’t think he will be able to do that. I think he will have some moments, and he might fall to Vasily at some point, but overall I think Lomachenko is still just a tactical wizard and artistic marvel for Tofemo to get the Duke here. If Lopez were to win, there would almost certainly be a pause, but I think Luma still has his IQ, and most importantly, the great work on the foot and spring in his stride to avoid the picks taking place at his home. I think it frustrates Lopez on the way to a clear decision. Lopez will be back again and be a force for years, but Saturday will be Loma night. Lomachenko UD-12

You want to askYou know, I mostly agree with Teofimo Lopez when he refused to compare this fight against Lomachenko and Mayweather Kanelo. This fight is really nothing like that fight, but there is at least one comparison with Mayweather-Pacquiao that I think is relevant to this fight. Manny Pacquiao is often credited with his footwork and his ability to get angles on his opponents, but as he prepared to fight Floyd, she consistently mentioned that although he wasn’t a fast jerk, Floyd’s footwork was probably better than Pacquiao.

This raised a lot of criticism at the time, but it proved evident in their fight when Pacquiao wasn’t able to take corners on Floyd as he could have pulled off his best attack because Floyd was able to spin and turn smoothly. With Bakiao. There is nothing that grabs your attention on the screen, but one thing that can make a big impact. So, bringing this back to Lomachenko-Lopez, I’ll just say that great footwork is not something that you can easily duplicate in sparring, simply because almost no one can simulate this aspect like the greats. Lomachenko is one of the greats, especially in the shoe department, and that will provide a level of difficulty that Lopez has never faced before. Lopez’s foot movement isn’t enough to hold off Lomachenko as far as I can tell, so unless Lopez can flatten Lomachenko with a big shot, I see Lomachenko directing him from a distance. Lomachenko UD-12

Lomachenko Staff Selection: Stephie, Mookie, Lucas, Wil (BLH), Scott (BLH), Watson (BLH), and Stumberg (BLH)

Lopez Staff Selection:
Staff selection lottery: