Vasyl Lomachenko will take on Jason Sosa April 8 on Saturday night at the MGM National Harbor in a unification super featherweight title bout.
Vasyl Lomachenko enters this clash against Sosa sporting a sharp 7-1 record that includes five impressive knockouts. I state impressive knockouts because Lomachenko at times gets so comfortable in his execution that he at times toys with his foes right before he stops them.
Lomachenko’s only blemish on his ledger came in his 2nd fight losing a close decision to the rough and rugged veteran, Orlando Salido. Since Lomachenko’s defeat to Salido, Lomachenko has won six straight fights in dominant fashion.
Most recently this past November, Lomachenko got his biggest win to date in dismantling the hardest puncher in the division in Nicholas Walters, and did so by forcing Walters to surrender at the end of the 7th stanza.
Enter the road warrior and very heavy handed Jason Sosa, Sosa has a 20-1-4 record with 15 big knockouts.
Sosa is coming off a November win against the very game Stephen Smith. Sosa is a very dangerous fighter and seems to thrive in his underdog role and the fact that he punches with very bad intentions sure doesn’t hurt.
What will hurt however is Sosa’s pride and willingness to trade with his combatants. Against Lomachenko, Sosa must not fall prey to the traps being set up by Lomachenko. And Sosa is the type of fighter that is at his best while punching with his opponents due to his strong belief that his punch is much harder.
I picture Sosa looking to be very forceful in trying to keep the fight at close range working behind a pawing jab. But in doing so it may come at a very heavy price since Lomachenko is an expert at creating false space.
By false space what I mean is that Lomachenko makes subtle steps towards his foe and then rapidly dips and spins out of their range to then stab you with damaging blinding punches from odd angles.
Lomachenko to me is a boxing machine with a sky high boxing IQ, has incredible balance, cat like quickness, and above average power.
In short, Lomachenko is the total package and because of this, I just don’t see how Sosa can beat the boxing marvel.
Sosa’s best shot is to drag Lomachenko into a dog fight and like Salido, Sosa will need to fight rough and dirty to get Lomachenko out of his comfort zone.
But Sosa must also know the difference of working smarter instead of working harder, Sosa must not waste energy in punching himself out because the tank has got to be there in case the fight sees deep waters.
I see Lomachenko beating Sosa to the punch all night long and will batter Sosa to the body with vicious shots. Look for Lomachenko to employ a double jab to blind Sosa just enough to then sneak a killer right hook to Sosa’s dome.
After Lomachenko’s dagger of a right hook lands cleanly, the referee will then put a stop to the action to save the very brave Sosa from further punishment.
My pick is Lomachenko by 10th round stoppage.
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