Vasyl Lomachenko
Early life
Coached by his father Anatoly, Lomachenko claims that if his father had not been a boxing coach he probably would have chosen to play ice hockey professionally.
Amateur career
At the World Championships 2007 in Chicago he beat Abner Cotto in the first round, Theodoros Papazov, Arturo Santos Reyes, and Li Yang in the semifinal to reach a fight against Russian favorite Albert Selimov, another southpaw, to whom he lost, 12:16.
Lomachenko won gold at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. He avenged his 2007 World Championship defeat by Selimov in the first round. Lomachenko beat his five opponents by an astonishing 58-13 on the way to his first gold medal, and was subsequently named the outstanding boxer for the tournament and awarded the Val Barker Trophy.
In 2012 London Olympics he won his second consecutive Gold Medal. He defeated Han Soon-Chul of South Korea in the final by 19-9.
Lomachenko finished his amateur career with a career record of 396-1, with only loss, to Albert Selimov, avenged twice.
Professional career
After winning the gold medal, Lomachenko made the decision to turn pro. After meeting with several fight promoters, Lomachenko signed a contract to fight for Top Rank. Lomachenko made his professional debut in United States 12 October 2013 as part of the undercard to the Timothy Bradley vs. Juan Manuel Marquez main event defeating Mexican fighter José Ramirez with a fourth round knockout.[3]
Lomachenko vs. Salido
Lomachenko’s bid to make history by winning a world championship in his second fight and break Saensak Muangsurin‘s record ended in failure. He challengedOrlando Salido for the featherweight World Boxing Organization‘s title. However, Lomachenko shied from engaging Salido throughout most of the fight, something that his opponent exploited. A late surge, which saw him injure Salido in the final round, was unable to change the final result.
Boxing magazines mentioned the conduct of the referee, Salido’s dirty boxing and weight issues that are outlined in Orlando Salido vs. Vasyl Lomachenko controversy as contributing factors to Lomachenko’s loss.