Report: Vasyl Lomachenko vs. Orlando Salido rematch slated for August

Vasyl Lomachenko (8-1, 6 KOs) has quickly made his case as arguably the #1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world. The two-time Olympic gold medalist won the WBO featherweight (126 lbs) title in just his third pro fight, and is the reigning WBO junior lightweight (130 lbs) champion.

Only one opponent has been able to defeat “Hi-Tech” in the professional ranks, and it looks like we may see a rematch. RingTV has the details on the plans to make Lomachenko vs. Orlando Salido II for August.

Top Rank CEO Bob Arum told RingTV.com on Thursday that negotiations for a long-discussed rematch between Lomachenko and Orlando Salido are in the advanced stages. The WBO junior lightweight title fight doesn’t have a date or location yet — Salido first must defeat Thailand’s Amphon Suriyo in a tune-up bout on May 27 and come out unscathed — but Arum is eyeing the first week of August in either Los Angeles or Chicago for the 130-pound title tilt.

“On the 29th (that Monday), we look to move to close the deal with Bob,” Salido’s manager, Sean Gibbons, told The Ring on Thursday. “I see Lomachenko with the nonsense ‘it doesn’t matter.’ If you’re past it, daddy, quit thinking about it and move on. At the end of the day, Salido is a few years older, Lomachenko a few years better, but we’ll see what happens. Salido will be the best opponent since he fought Salido.”

Salido (43-13-4-1 NC, 30 KOs) beat Lomachenko by split decision (116-112, 115-113, 113-115) back in March 2014, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The outcome denied Lomachenko the chance to become the first boxer to win a major world title in just his second professional outing.

While Lomachenko blamed himself for the loss, citing not following the fight plan and not being active enough with his offense (which statistics absolutely back up), the contest was marred by Salido’s pre-fight and in-fight actions. The Mexican badly missed weight, was stripped of his title, but the WBO featherweight belt was still on the line for Lomachenko. On fight night, Salido ballooned up to 147 lbs, whereas Lomachenko was 136. Salido got away with an unbelievably high number of low blows, many of which were extremely blatant. Referee Laurence Cole, of “You’re ahead on the scorecards!” fame, didn’t deduct any points. By round 12, HBO commentator Jim Lampley (at about 6:31 of the video below) lost his patience and ripped into Cole.

That’s Texas for you.

Anyway, Salido earning the decision over Lomachenko wasn’t terrible by any means, but the illegal shots going unpunished was extraordinarily bad. In recent fights, Salido lost a thrilling split decision to Rocky Martinez, then went to a draw in the immediate rematch, and most recently engaged in an exciting draw vs. Francisco Vargas in arguably the best fight of 2016. Salido is perhaps best known for his pair of knockout wins over Puerto Rico’s Juan Manuel Lopez.

Lomachenko has been nothing short of sensational since the Salido loss. Earlier this year he pummeled Jason Sosa and forced a corner stoppage after round 9. Last November, the Ukrainian dominated the heavy-handed Nicholas Walters and made Walters quit after round 7.

This fight is obviously heavily reliant on Salido winning his tune-up in Mexico next week, but if it does get made, it’ll be another solid addition to what’s been a strong bounce back year for boxing after a rather underwhelming 2016.