Why Vasiliy Lomachenko was different from the rest

Numbers don't lie, but sometimes, they don't archer the full truth, either.

Vasiliy Lomachenko announced his retirement from boxing connected Thursday astatine property 37. He leaves the athletics arsenic a three-division satellite champion with a nonrecreational grounds of 18-3 (12 KOs). As the years spell by, determination volition beryllium a caller question of boxing fans who volition not person witnessed the Ukrainian sensation use his trade wrong the ring. Instead, they volition look astatine his grounds and inquire however a combatant with 3 losses successful lone 21 fights tin beryllium considered great. Especially successful an epoch wherever greatness is often defined by protecting an undefeated record, thing that Floyd Mayweather made celebrated by retiring with a 50-0 record.

But Lomachenko was a antithetic benignant of athlete, whose travel done the pro ranks aft a singular amateur career, wherever helium won 2 Olympic golden medals and amassed an bonzer grounds of 396-1, ran other the bulk of boxing careers. Rather than walk the aboriginal information of his pro vocation facing unheralded opponents, Lomachenko dove headfirst into the biggest challenges and was defined by overcoming the odds.

In his 2nd nonrecreational fight, little than 5 months aft his debut, Lomachenko was matched up with rugged WBO featherweight champion Orlando Salido successful March 2014. Lomachenko was chasing past successful an effort to interruption the grounds by becoming a satellite champion successful lone his 2nd fight. However, Salido had different plans. He missed value by 2 pounds and utilized his size advantage, on with immoderate soiled tactics, to outpoint Lomachenko by divided decision.

Undeterred, Lomachenko would acclimate to the pro benignant and made bully connected his 2nd effort to go a satellite champion by defeating antecedently unbeaten Gary Russell Jr. by bulk decision successful June 2014 to assertion the vacant WBO featherweight title, joining Saensak Muangsurin arsenic the lone fighters to go champions successful their 3rd pro fight.

But his champion was yet to come.

Lomachenko successfully defended the rubric 3 times earlier moving up to inferior lightweight, wherever helium stopped WBO champion Roman Martinez successful 5 rounds successful June 2016 to go the fastest boxer to triumph satellite titles successful 2 antithetic value classes (7 fights). After that, we were introduced to "No Mas-Chenko."

In his adjacent 4 fights -- against Nicholas Walters (26-0-1), Jason Sosa (20-1-4), Miguel Marriaga (25-2) and Guillermo Rigondeaux (17-0) -- Lomachenko forced each of his opponents to discontinue connected the stool betwixt rounds. With his superb footwork, pinpoint accuracy and bonzer athleticism, Lomachenko was virtually untouchable during this singular tally that cemented him arsenic a mainstay successful the pound-for-pound rankings. Against arguably the different top amateur boxer of this generation, chap two-time Olympic golden medalist Guillermo Rigondeaux, Lomachenko easy dissected him, lone allowing Rigondeaux to onshore 8% of his full punches successful a sixth-round TKO victory.

It would instrumentality the mean combatant a afloat vocation to execute what Lomachenko did successful conscionable 11 nonrecreational fights.

And helium inactive wasn't done.

Although helium was wide regarded arsenic a tiny inferior lightweight, Lomachenko made the trek up to lightweight for his adjacent endeavor, challenging WBA champion Jorge Linares successful May 2018. Although helium was dropped successful the sixth round, Lomachenko stopped Linares successful the 10th circular with a liver punch to go the fastest combatant ever to triumph satellite titles successful 3 antithetic value classes (12 fights), obliterating the erstwhile grounds of 20 fights held by Jeff Fenech.

With his pound-for-pound presumption cemented, Lomachenko unified titles with wins implicit Jose Pedraza and Luke Campbell but was incapable to go undisputed champion when helium fell short to IBF champion Teofimo Lopez. After winning his adjacent 3 fights, Lomachenko came up abbreviated again successful his effort to unify each 4 large lightweight belts erstwhile helium mislaid a highly arguable decision to Devin Haney. Both losses -- against Haney and Lopez -- were against people bigger opponents with younker connected their side.

Before riding disconnected into the sunset, Lomachenko laid discarded to erstwhile undisputed lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr. successful May 2024 with an 11th-round TKO successful his opponent's backyard of Perth, Australia. At 36, Lomachenko was unsure of his adjacent move. Between his advancing property and yearning to beryllium location successful the war-torn Ukraine, Lomachenko yet decided that his boxing vocation was over.

Although Lomachenko didn't discontinue with a cleanable record, his appetite to marque past and instrumentality connected the biggest challenges from the infinitesimal helium turned pro is the crushed helium volition waltz into the International Hall of Fame successful 3 years. For astir boxers, 21 fights is inactive portion of the gathering phase.

With that aforesaid magnitude of fights, Canelo Alvarez was a virtual chartless who was inactive warring exclusively successful Mexico. Terence Crawford had yet to triumph a large satellite rubric aft their archetypal 21 fights. Even Mayweather, who is rightfully recognized arsenic the greatest boxer of this generation, hadn't accomplished what Lomachenko did successful 21 fights. Lomachenko is the cleanable illustration of needing to witnesser greatness successful existent clip to afloat comprehend it, and to not trust solely connected numbers and records to archer a story.