Former unified world lightweight triple champion Vasyl Lomachenko of Ukraine and former Oriental Pacific Boxing Federation lightweight champion Masayoshi Nakatani of Teiken Boxing Gym met face-to-face for the first time on June 24 (June 25 Japan time) at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, Nevada, ahead of their 12-round nontitle bout at the same place on June 26 (June 27 Japan time).

The 33-year-old Romachenko said, ‘’He (Nakatani) is tough and tall with a long reach. But if I win this fight, I think I can move onto a rematch with Lopez (Teofimo Lopez of the U.S. who decisioned Lomachenko last October and is the current unified world lightweight champion). I want to fight him (Lopez) badly.’’

For his part, the 32-year-old Nakatani, who is 182-centimeter tall, said, ‘’It is meaningless unless I win the fight. I met Romachenko for the first time in today’s press conference. Since I had heard about his height (170 cm tall) in Japan, he was just about what I had expected. The real Romachenko looked very natural and did not feel too much pressure on himself. Therefore, he will be in his best condition for the fight. We will, therefore show a supreme bout.’’

During the customary face off, Romachenko softly put his both hands on Nakatani’s shoulders so that he can lower himself to the level of Romachenko, which caused a ripple of laughter from the press.

The left-handed Lomachenko has a record of 14 wins, including 10 knockouts, against two losses. Meanwhile, Nakatani has a 19-1 win-loss record with 13 KOs.　 Photo by Teiken Boxing Gym