23 jun.

Gervonta vs. Loma: Who is the Favorite Among Fighters?

It increasingly looks like a lightweight (up to 61.2 kg) bout between WBA champion Gervonta Davis (30-0, 28 KOs) and IBF titleholder Vasyl Lomachenko (18-3, 12 KOs) is becoming a reality.

Even before Davis's triumphant return against Frank Martin (18-1, 12 KOs), the founder and head of Top Rank, Bob Arum, revealed that negotiations for the potential American-Ukrainian showdown have been ongoing for several weeks, with November-December 2024 being the ideal window for the fight.

Renowned boxers have shared their opinions on who they believe is the favorite in this matchup.

American prospect Keyshawn Davis (10-0, 7 KOs) believes the best years of the Ukrainian are behind him.

"I’m definitely going with Tank (Gervonta Davis). I feel Loma is smaller, frail, older, and soon to retire. Maybe 3 years ago, Lomachenko had all the necessary skills and abilities to beat Tank, but 3 years is a long time in boxing. I don't think he can beat Tank now, but it will definitely be a hell of a fight. I see Tank most likely stopping him," Davis told Sean Zittel's YouTube channel.

Former American champion Rolando Romero (15-2, 13 KOs) favors Davis.

"I'm not a Lomosexual. I don't support that crap and I'm not a Lomosexual. Gervonta will kill him! I'm not a Lomosexual. Everyone believed Lomachenko would beat Haney, but Loma didn’t try to win the end of that damn fight. Body shots? Yeah, that's another thing. No one talks about the clean body shots Devin Haney landed. They might not have shocked him… Although that's a lie, he was hurt. Devin hit him with one body shot. That was somewhere in the 10th round. But, as I said, I'm not a Lomosexual," Romero told FightHype.com.

American WBC champion Shakur Stevenson, whose manager named Lomachenko as one of the desired opponents for his client, is confident that Davis cannot knock out the Ukrainian. Stevenson also expresses disappointment with this fight, as he always wanted to face Vasyl.

"It all depends on which version of Lomachenko shows up. Honestly, I don't see how Gervonta can knock out Vasyl. Lomachenko is very strong in defense, knows various tricks, and has better skills than Frank Martin. No disrespect to Frank, but I'm talking about Vasyl's experience. I think Gervonta can push him to a certain limit, but not beyond. Because it also depends on how much strength Lomachenko has left. Many thought he was in very good shape against Kambosos. Yes, he showed a good performance, but he can't keep the same pace as before. The fight? Honestly, I don't respect it. Simply because these guys have been in the same weight class for so long, and now that I'm on the horizon to get a fight with Lomachenko, everyone wants to talk about Tank and Loma… I feel like Lomachenko has one or two fights left in his career. I feel they want to do the fight now because the time has come. Obviously, I'm being avoided. I'm the guy nobody wants to fight, with all due respect to the other fighters. Too many have turned down a fight with me. I feel like biased fans and biased people are giving these guys a pass because they don't like me," Stevenson told Fight Hub TV.

Former American welterweight champion (up to 66.7 kg) Errol Spence (28-1, 22 KOs) favors his compatriot and believes Lomachenko has become too slow.

"I see Tank winning. I think Loma has become very slow. I see Tank catching him with a big shot," Spence told Fight Hub TV.

In the early hours of June 16, Gervonta Davis knocked out Frank Martin in the 8th round to defend his title. Vasyl Lomachenko stopped George Kambosos (21-3, 10 KOs) by technical knockout in the 11th round in May to claim the vacant IBF title.

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