While it is difficult to predict the outcome of any boxing fight, regardless of who these fighters are, nothing can prevent us from expressing our opinion on who we want to see win and who we want to see lose the fight. In the case of the Lomachenko and Lopez showdown, which will take place on Saturday October 17, we are seeing Lomachenko stopping Lopez in the championship rounds (rounds 11 and 12).
Of course, you may not agree with this point of view that we have for this particular fight. But this is just our opinion. After all, we all have our biases for anything and boxing match prediction is among them. It’s a very interesting match and we can’t wait to see two explosive boxers in the lightweight division clash in a unification bout.
Lopez has all the physical advantages against Lomachenko: speed, power, youth, and size. But he has yet to be tested against the best opponents, and Lomachenko has the tools to make any advantage Lopez may have against him less effective. However, the only chance Lopez has to beat Lomachenko is for him to be one notch higher than the confidence he felt when he thinks he can beat Loma so easily.
It’s more of a psychological thing for Lopez, like how he can handle frustration in the ring, because that’s one thing, among other things, that Lomachenko might have to exploit to his advantage as well. Loma is sure to send Lopez to school, suggesting that unless Lopez can take a big step forward, he doesn’t belong at the level Loma is enjoying now and well beyond the standard.
In the early rounds, we can expect Lomachenko to fight cautiously, as if watching the waters closely first. He can throw a few combinations, in addition to laser-like jabs and flashing hooks, but the main goal is to collect data from the opponent. Lopez, on the other hand, who is overly confident in his size advantage against Loma, likes to engage in a melee battle with Loma early on as he tries to shoot everything he has in his arsenal.
Lomachenko’s counter-punching ability is clearly evident when he starts hitting Lopez with pot shots, arm blows to the head and body that even if they aren’t power shots, but are certainly considered good scores. There are times when Lopez can rock Loma a bit, but Loma’s consistency in his ability to counter and make good use of range control never seems to suffer from that.
As the fight progresses, midway through, Lomachenko begins to adjust and slowly unveils his Lopez-centric fight plan. It was at this point that Lomachenko’s movement and timing can frustrate Lopez as Loma steps up the game by increasing momentum and pressure on Lopez. Lopez will attempt to defy Loma’s charge on him, switches to counter-punching, and strays a bit out of Loma’s effective range.
In the championship rounds (rounds 11 and 12), when Loma realizes Lopez’s power is fading, he continues to increase the pressure on Lopez, this time with more power shots. Lopez looks too tired and frustrated. Lomachenko finishes off Lopez with a combination that sends him to the canvas. Lopez tries to get up and beat the count, but his body is unwilling.
