Vasyl Lomachenko vs. Guillermo Rigondeaux staff picks and predictions

Check out the Bloody Elbow staff’s picks and predictions for the big boxing match between Vasyl Lomachenko and Guillermo Rigondeaux.

Vasyl Lomachenko (9-1, 7 KOs) and Guillermo Rigondeaux (17-0-1 NC, 11 KOs) will square off for Lomachenko’s WBO junior lightweight title on Saturday night at the sold-out Madison Square Garden Theater in New York City. It’s the first time that a pair of two-time Olympic gold medalists have ever fought in the squared circle, and these are two of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world today.

Despite all of this, Lomachenko is a hefty favorite against the Cuban, who is moving up from 122 pounds to 130 to take on the Ukrainian dynamo. The Bloody Elbow staff unanimously agrees that Lomachenko will prevail on this ESPN-televised special.

Vasyl Lomachenko vs. Guillermo Rigondeaux

Anton Tabuena: Oh my. This will not draw like the other big boxing matches this year, but this is by far the most intriguing to me as both are so technical and among the most skilled in the entire sport. Rigondeaux is so damn good defensively, so I am interested in seeing how Lomachenko’s style, movement and volume offense will translate against a guy like him. Vasyl is bigger, and at least on paper should also be stronger and better on offense, so I have him edging this. But if he goes beyond that and still pulls off some Matrix style magic to actually dominate a guy this technical? I don’t care what others think, to me that would clearly cement him as the top pound-for-pound boxer on earth today -- maybe even the most skillful one ever. Vasyl Lomachenko by Decision.

Mookie Alexander: Pace, pace, and pace. Guillermo Rigondeaux normally fights at a slow pace when no one pushes him, which so often leads to absolute snoozers when you know he’s more than good enough to plow through his overmatched opposition. He is one of the most gifted counterpunchers of this era, and he’s mostly outstanding defensively, although he’s occasionally prone to some knockdowns born out of carelessness. My concern with Rigondeaux is that at 37 years old, you can only assume he’s not anywhere near his physical prime, whereas Lomachenko is not only 29, he didn’t even make his pro debut until 2013. Lomachenko is so masterful on the mental side of things, and much like Terence Crawford, after a couple of rounds, he has you figured out and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it. Even in his loss against Orlando Salido, who largely Cheick Kongo’d his way to victory without punishment, Lomachenko understood that his low-output until the final few rounds cost him dearly, and since then it’s just been a series of ass whippings. Lomachenko seldom loads up on one punch, compared to Rigondeaux looking for big counters, instead drowning his opponents with combinations from all sorts of angles and leaving you absolutely no time to think of a response. Forget the size advantage concerns, Lomachenko just has every base covered and even if Rigondeaux troubles him a round here, a round there, works the body, catches Lomachenko occasionally in one of those potentially awkward southpaw vs. southpaw exchanges, the Ukrainian is just too damn good for anybody. I see Lomachenko’s pace, accuracy, and varied attacks steadily break the Cuban down until the resistance is broken and Rigondeaux gets stopped. Rigondeaux needs to either find a way to keep Lomachenko’s offensive attacks to a minimum, or find something in his system to get the KO, and the latter is definitely not happening. Vasyl Lomachenko by TKO, round 10.

Fraser Coffeen: Oh man, I’m so torn on this, which is what makes it awesome. OK, so both are clearly amazing, amazing technical fighters who do pretty much everything perfectly. Which means this is going to be a battle of inches. And I think those inches favor Lomachenko. He’s already the more powerful puncher, and his size advantage will only accentuate that. He’s not a one punch KO artist typically, but he uses his movement to land shots that hurt you and accumulate. The trouble is, Rigo is just SO hard to hit. He’ll be able to avoid Lomachenko’s offense in a way no one else can, and he’ll look to land the counter. Which of course, won’t be an easy task in any way. But what will give Lomachenko the edge in my eyes is his ability to mix it up - to go to the head, to the body, and just find ways to connect. I see both boxers needing to work for every clean shot, but ultimately, Lomachenko being able to impact Rigondeaux more with his connections than vice versa. Vasyl Lomachenko by close decision

Stephie Haynes: There’s not a single doubt in my mind, Rigondeaux will finally be in an exciting fight. Unfortunately for him, it will be against a guy that can hold his breath for 4+ minutes after a run. Against a guy that has the cardio, speed and accuracy to dismantle him. I’m of the mind that Loma will play with his food for the first half and then turn up the volume sometime around the 8th round. The finish will come in the 9th. That’s right folks, I’m Babe Ruth up in this mofo. Vasyl Lomachenko via R9 (T)KO

Staff picking Loma: Fraser, Mookie, Tim, Anton, Stephie, Connor
Staff picking Rigondeaux: