Who Vasyl Lomachenko and Leo Santa Cruz Need to Fight Next
Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao finally settled things for good.
It was the great superfight of their time, but it only made amends for what was supposed to happen a half-decade ago. Mayweather turned back his greatest adversary to prove himself better, not just now, but all along.
It was the past revisited.
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It was the undercard where fans caught a glimpse of the future.
Leo Santa Cruz and Vasyl Lomachenko, 26 and 27, respectively, walked away victorious against overmatched foes this weekend.
Lomachenko's radiant yellow gloves and golden fists shined brightest, showing off surgical punching prowess in defense of his WBO recognized featherweight title, knocking out Gamalier Rodriguez in nine rounds.
Santa Cruz, too, picked up a win in the talent-laden featherweight division, whipping Jose Cayetano around the ring en route to a 10-round unanimous decision in his 126-pound debut.
Both men took care of business against unheralded opponents. They gained a level of exposure most young fighters can only dream about fighting on a gigantic pay-per-view headlined by the sport's two biggest stars.
In order to capitalize on that kind of attention, there are obvious options as to who they should be matched up against next.
Nicholas Walters
Top Rank Promotions is all in on Lomachenko and with good reason. If his professional record of 4-1 doesn't impress you, the two-time Olympic gold medalist's 396-1 mark as an amateur just might.
The Ukrainian had a real wake-up call against the ruthless Orlando Salido in March 2014, dropping a split decision to the former world champion, but is all the better for that rough encounter. He's adapted to the pro ranks really well since, hitting with good power and uncanny accuracy in his next three bouts.
He's also attacking the body like a true pro—evident by the left hand that sunk into Rodriguez's solar plexus that dropped the Puerto Rican in Round 7—and is doing the little things that can make a huge difference at this level. Even something as straightforward as informing the referee when he's been hit with a low blow—a seemingly novel idea to the Lomachenko that fought Salido 14 months ago.
Promoter Bob Arum told ESPN.com's Dan Rafael before his fight with Rodriguez that, "He can be one of the great, great fighters of our time."
"Hi-Tech," as the former Olympian is nicknamed, looked every bit the fistic genius his long track record would suggest in his last three fights, including a win over current title holder Gary Russell Jr. in mid-2014. "Loma" completely outboxed the swift American—a win that became all the more impressive when Russell Jr. dethroned the savage-punching Jhonny Gonzalez with ease earlier this year.
Lomachenko is due for another big test.
A unification bout with the butcher king of the featherweight division Nicholas Walters is befitting. Walters rates as the No. 1 126-pound fighter in the world by both The Ring and Transnational Boxing Rankings (TBRB) after chopping down former pound-for-pound claimant Nonito Donaire in six rounds.
Walters is the man to beat, and Lomachenko is on board to do it, telling Rafael, "Of course I want to fight him."
The WBA champion fights June 13 on HBO at the Madison Square Garden in New York. An opponent has yet to be named.
Don't expect a fighter of Loma's level to make such a quick turnaround and jump in against Walters next month, but provided the Jamaican titlist keeps his unblemished record intact, a showdown between the two later this year would be a sublime clash of styles and might even create a new lineage at featherweight, the first true champion since Mikey Garcia in 2013.
Abner Mares
It's safe to say there isn't a fighter alive more criticized for his level of opposition than Santa Cruz.
His last three fights have been made up of men with spotty records and even spottier skill sets. Cayetano, his latest opponent, was even coming off a loss. Failing to even knock him out only made matters worse.
Most of the blame for Santa Cruz's recent run of subpar competition lies with advisor Al Haymon. But when Santa Cruz is handed over $700,000 for kicking over tomato cans like Manuel Roman (who currently holds a record of 17-4-3), it's hard to find a legitimate reason he should be turning down those offers.
The former super bantamweight champion is more than grateful, going as far as naming his newborn son after the powerful manager, per The Ring's Norm Frauenheim.
It's an eerie reminder to fans that these "fighters" we watch night in and night out are something other than just vessels for warfare and our entertainment but real-life men with families to support—no matter how much we want to believe all they care about is the legacy they leave behind in the ring.
That being said, Santa Cruz can't keep raking in big paydays fighting outright palookas. It's been over a year since beating a ranked opponent in Cristian Mijares and it'll likely be two years until he fights again since last looking overly impressive drowning notable junior featherweight Victor Terrazas with punches on the undercard of Abner Mares' stunning first-round knockout loss to Gonzalez in 2013.
Crossing paths with fellow Haymon-advised Mares is nothing new. It should also be noted that Mares, too, has been levied with criticism recently for lackluster competition. A matchup between the two has been long discussed for their swarming styles. It's just the kind of guaranteed action that will be sure to return both men to boxing fans' good graces.
"Hopefully we get that fight next," Santa Cruz said, per BoxingScene.com's Jake Donovan, following the young star's routine win this weekend. "I'll talk to my team, and hopefully we can make it happen."
Hopefully they do. But if he doesn't and ends up tackling another third-rate can instead, he's no less of a man for it.
He's just less of a fighter.
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