The boxing world has said goodbye to an icon of the sport with Vasiliy Lomachenko announcing his retirement.
Along with the likes of Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk and two elite fighters who are set to face one another later this year in Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford, Lomachenko is widely regarded to be one of the greatest of his era, if not of all time.
The Ukrainian had already earned huge amounts of acclaim before turning pro after he went 396-1 at an amateur level, winning back-to-back Olympic gold medals in 2008 and 2012.
He turned pro in 2013, retiring with an 18-3 record having been a three-weight world champion, which included the unified lightweight titles.
Lomachenko last fought in May of last year, stopping George Kambosos Jr. to win the vacant IBO and IBF lightweight titles, bouncing back from a controversial loss to Devin Haney the year prior.
Fans react to Vasiliy Lomachenko’s retirement with the majority of responses celebrating his incredible career
Vasiliy Lomachenko announced his retirement via social media, posting a video where he gave thanks to his supporters, team and loved ones.
The writing was on the wall regarding his career coming to an end after talks of him fighting Gervonta Davis fell through last year, with Lomachenko’s manager claiming that he turned the fight down because he wanted to take some time off.
“Of course, I would be remiss to not thank you, my dear boxing fans around the world. You have always supported me with passion and belief through unforgettable fights, alongside me for over a decade. I hope you continue to love and respect this sport.”
Fans responded with tributes to the 37-year-old, celebrating his career by listing some of his incredible accomplishments.
‘Was a pleasure watching the man fight. Best amateur of all time, fastest 3 division champion in boxing history, a legend. Enjoy retirement champ.’
‘Thank you for the years of entertaining fights. True magician and technician. Oh and that footwork. All the best in retirement champ.’
‘One of the best to do it, his footwork and setups were second to none.’
Others had varying reactions to the news, either looking forward to what is next for the lightweight division, reflecting on missed opportunities or giving harsh reviews of Lomachenko’s career.
‘He had an incredible run. Glad to see the division can finally move along now, though.’
‘The one fight I wish we could have seen at some point was Gervonta Davis vs. Vasiliy Lomachenko. It was often debated whether Gervonta was too young or Lomachenko was too old for the matchup. I’m sure there was a perfect moment to make the fight happen, but that’s just the nature of boxing.’
‘What a disappointment. Simply didn’t live up to the hype.’
What is Vasiliy Lomachenko’s best win?
Unfortunately for Vasiliy Lomachenko, some of the biggest names in the sport today started to come through when he was towards the end of his career.
His losses to Teofimo Lopez and Devin Haney might stand out but they’re not reflective of how truly great the Ukrainian was when he was at his best.
Of all of his remarkable accomplishments, his win over Guillermo Rigondeaux might be the win that stands out the most when people look back on ‘The Matrix’ in full flow.
Rigondeaux is also a former two-time Olympic gold medallist who was undefeated heading into their clash in December of 2017.
While even Lomachenko admitted that his opponent had bitten off more than he could chew when moving up a weight class, it was a near flawless performance from ‘Hi-Tech’.
Lomachenko joked that after Rigondeaux retired on his stool after round 6, he would change his name to ‘No Mas Chenko’ after developing a habit for making opponents quit.