By Rick Reeno
WBO featherweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko (5-1, 3KOs) put on a boxing clinic on Saturday night, when he toyed with Romulo Koasicha (25-5) for nine rounds and finished him off in the tenth. The HBO televised co-feature took place at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
Lomachenko's opponent was severely overmatched, but the well has run dry at 126-pounds.
The majority of the top fighters at featherweight are all under contract with manager/adviser Al Haymon, who does no business with Top Rank, the promoter of Lomachenko.
Potential opponents like Leo Santa Cruz, Lee Selby, Gary Russell Jr., Jesus Cuellar, Abner Mares and several other top contenders at 126 are all with Haymon.
Because of the current landscape, a move to super featherweight may happen sooner than later.
"We will see. If we can get exciting fights, we will stay at 126. But if we can not, then we're going to go up," Lomachenko's manager Egis Klimas told BoxingScene.com.
Top Rank CEO Bob Arum would love to match Lomachenko with Guillermo Rigondeaux (15-0, 10KOs). That matchup would pit two of the greatest amateur fighters of all-time, and each boxer has won two Olympic gold medals.
But, Rigondeaux's promoter is asking for an extremely large sum of money, says Arum.
"We're going to try [to make that fight]. If we're not going to get him, then we'll think about what else. Right now we're in a position where he's going to rest for a month, there are still negotiations and if it's going to happen it's going to happen. If not then we'll think about a move to 130," Klimas said.
Lomachenko is still itching to have a rematch with Orlando Salido, who competes at 130-pounds. Salido handed Lomachenko his first career defeat last year. The Mexican veteran is scheduled to face WBO super featherweight champion Rocky Martinez in a trilogy bout in the early part of next year.
If Salido wins the title, then Klimas is more than willing to make that fight. But until Salido secures some gold around his waist, Klimas sees very little business sense to do that fight.
"With [Lomachenko's] ego he wants a rematch, but right now Salido is not a champion. First, he has to fight for a championship and if he becomes a champion then we're going to be thinking about a move to 130, but right now there is no reason [to do that fight]," Klimas said.
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