6/26 ESPN: Vasiliy Lomachenko vs Masayoshi Nakatani

[patscorpio]

“Loma” is back. The Ukrainian superstar and future Hall of Famer fights for the first time since last October’s showdown against Teofimo Lopez for the undisputed lightweight world title. Lomachenko’s return comes against Nakatani (19-1, 13 KOs), a longtime Japanese contender who most recently knocked out Felix Verdejo in one of the best fights of 2020. Lomachenko (14-2, 10 KOs) won a pair of Olympic gold medals before turning professional in 2013, and he then proceeded to win world titles in three weight classes in his first 12 fights. The “pound-for-pound Picasso” will be giving up roughly five inches in height and six inches in reach to the naturally bigger Nakatani.

 

[patscorpio]

Janibek Alimkhanuly-Rob Brant Set For June 26 On Lomachenko-Nakatani Undercard

BY KEITH IDEC
Published Tue May 18, 2021, 12:10 PM EDT


Janibek Alimkhanuly will take a step up in competition against a former world champion in his next fight.

BoxingScene.com has learned Alimkhanuly will box Rob Brant on June 26 in Las Vegas. Their 10-round middleweight match will be the co-feature before former three-division champion Vasiliy Lomachenko meets Masayoshi Nakatani in the 12-round main event.

ESPN+ will stream those two fights following a full undercard from The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.

Alimkhanuly (9-0, 5 KOs), a southpaw from Kazakhstan, has won four of his past five fights by knockout since he beat Vaughn Alexander (then 12-1) by split decision in an eight-rounder in November 2018 at the University of Texas at El Paso’s Don Haskins Center. The 28-year-old Alimkhanuly knocked out Argentina’s Gonzalo Coria (16-4, 6 KOs) in the second round of his most recent fight, a scheduled 10-rounder October 9 at MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas.

In Brant, Alimkhanuly will encounter a former WBA world middleweight champion who is trying to earn his way back to another title shot.

Brant beat Vitaliy Kopylenko by technical knockout in his last appearance. The 30-year-old Brant (26-2, 18 KOs) dominated Ukraine’s Kopylenko (28-3, 16 KOs) before their scheduled 10-round bout was stopped following the fifth round August 22 at MGM Grand Conference Center.

The Dallas resident’s impressive victory over Kopylenko marked Brant’s debut with trainer Brian McIntyre in his corner. McIntyre also trains unbeaten WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford.

Brant’s win against Kopylenko also was his first fight following a disastrous second-round, technical-knockout loss to Ryota Murata in their middleweight championship rematch. Japan’s Murata (16-2, 13 KOs) regained his WBA world 160-pound crown from Brant in July 2019 in Osaka, about 8½ months after Brant upset the 2012 Olympic gold medalist by 12-round unanimous decision at Park Theater in Las Vegas.

Alimkhanuly and Brant are promoted by Bob Arum’s Top Rank Inc., which also represents Lomachenko.

Ukraine’s Lomachenko (14-2, 10 KOs) will fight for the first time against Japan’s Nakatani (19-1, 13 KOs) since he lost the WBA, WBC franchise and WBO lightweight titles to Teofimo Lopez on October 17 at MGM Grand Conference Center. Brooklyn’s Lopez (16-0, 12 KOs) is the only opponent who has beaten Nakatani, who lost a 12-round unanimous decision to Lopez in July 2019 at MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland.

 

[Conscious Pilot]

Great matchup. Both guys will be desperate for a win here.

Teofimo’s leftovers

 

[Bigblackted4]

Will another eastern euro guy turn out to be hype or the real deal let’s see. Brant only two losses were at 168 and to a juice up Asian in his hometown

 

[The axe murderer]

Loma on the comeback #prettyboys

 

[patscorpio]

Will another eastern euro guy turn out to be hype or the real deal let’s see. Brant only two losses were at 168 and to a juice up Asian in his hometown

all i know is i think it will be a slugfest for real

 

[KingOFKings]

Top Rank is on fire with these docs recently, Loma one is out tomorrow on youtube...would be shame if Nakatani upsets him lol, which is why I’m more of a fan of the Countdown/All Access type of docs that focus on both fighters. It brings in more viewers as well because fans (casuals) get a glimpse of the other guy as well. Nakatani has done some good work for top rank recently, why hide it? Yeah, chances are he takes the L, but this way you can at least recycle him...and if he wins, you’re not starting from scratch with the promo.

Examples of this are the Charlo-Harrison 1 PBC Countdown, Hurd-Jroc Williams PBC Countdown, Williams-Rosario PBC Countdown. All of these were upsets, yet Harrison, Jroc and Rosario all ended up getting their story/training camp told nationally. You didn’t have to start from scratch with the promo because it wasn’t completely one sided.

 

[Derek Lee]

 

[patscorpio]

shyt i completely forgot to watch this..

 

[87 others]

This is so fukking embarrassing to watch. Almost a half hour of excuses for the Teofimo loss. Didn't even bother promoting his next fight smh. I'm a Loma fan but this is ridiculous. Stop with this "glitch in the matrix" shyt already.

 

[desjardins]

Fight I'm looking to most this weekend
Nakatani not going give Loma time to "download" and I think Loma will be fighting like he has something to prove

 

[patscorpio]

June 26: Giovani Santillan-Cecil McCalla Welterweight Showdown Confirmed for Lomachenko-Nakatani ESPN+ Undercard at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas

Main Card and Undercard bouts stream exclusively on ESPN+

Undercard: 7:15 p.m. ET/4:15 p.m. PT
Main Card: 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT

Tickets starting at $75 are on sale now at Etix.com

LAS VEGAS (June 22, 2021) — After a close call in his last fight, Giovani Santillan is set to add to his name to the ranks of the top welterweight contenders. Santillan will return from a yearlong layoff to fight seasoned pro Cecil McCalla in a crossroads battle scheduled for eight or 10 rounds this Saturday, June 26 at The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.

Santillan-McCalla will be among the undercard bouts streaming live and exclusively on ESPN+ at 7:15 p.m. ET/4:15 p.m. PT.

The return of former pound-for-pound king Vasiliy Lomachenko in a 12-round lightweight bout against Masayoshi Nakatani, and a 10-round middleweight contest between unbeaten sensation Janibek “Qazaq Style” Alimkhanuly and former world champion Rob “Bravo” Brant will stream live and exclusively on ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.

Promoted by Top Rank, tickets starting at $75 are on sale now and can be purchased by visiting Etix.com.

The San Diego-born Santillan (26-0, 15 KOs) developed his craft on the Southern California club show circuit, and the 29-year-old is now a welterweight contender closing in on a world title opportunity. He last fought on June 16, 2020, escaping via majority decision over former lightweight world champion Antonio DeMarco in a pitched two-way battle. It represented the closest call of the southpaw's career, and he hopes to put forth a more dominating effort against McCalla (23-4, 10 KOs), a 13-year pro who has never been stopped in the paid ranks. McCalla, from Maryland, has won two straight bouts since a decision defeat to Madiyar Ashkeyev.

In other undercard action on ESPN+:

• Heavyweight knockout artist Guido “The Gladiator” Vianello (7-0-1, 7 KOs), a 2016 Italian Olympian, makes his return against Marlon Williams (6-1, 3 KOs) in a bout scheduled for four rounds. Vianello hopes to bounce back from last October’s draw to Bubble fan-favorite Kingsley Ibeh.
  
• Bantamweight puncher Robert “Biggie” Rodriguez (9-0-1, 5 KOs), who shined with a pair of devastating knockouts last year inside the MGM Grand Las Vegas Bubble, will fight Mexican veteran Luis Fernando Saavedra (8-6, 3 KOs) in a six-rounder. Saavedra last fought in February 2019, when he bested the previously undefeated Mario Hernandez over eight rounds.
  
• One of Japan’s most promising young fighters, Subaru Murata, will make his professional debut in a four-round junior featherweight tilt against Keven Monroy (1-1, 1 KO). Murata had a reported 68-12 amateur record and defeated the likes of undefeated bantamweight contender Lee McGregor.
  
• Flashy bantamweight prospect Floyd “Cashflow” Diaz (1-0), who turned pro in February, returns against fellow unbeaten Jaime Jasso (2-0) in a four-rounder. Diaz, from Las Vegas, was mentored by Floyd Mayweather Jr. as an amateur and is managed by James Prince.

 

[R=G]

Hope Nakatani wins

 

[R=G]

This is so fukking embarrassing to watch. Almost a half hour of excuses for the Teofimo loss. Didn't even bother promoting his next fight smh. I'm a Loma fan but this is ridiculous. Stop with this "glitch in the matrix" shyt already.

Those cocksuckers on YouTube swears this guy will kill Teo in the rematch or he destroys Haney. I think Teo knocks him out if he tries to start fast.

 

[Amare's Right Hook]

I feel solly for your mother.......