A chagrined Vasyl Lomachenko will make his return to the ring on Saturday, June 26, when he faces Masayoshi Nakatani in Las Vegas. Lomachenko (14-2 with 10 knockouts) was upset in a unification title fight by Teofimo Lopez last October, resulting in the Ukrainian lightweight losing all his belts. Nakatani (19-1 with 13 knockouts) suffered his only defeat at the hands of Lopez in July 2019, and he knows that a win over Lomachenko will likely result in a rematch with Lopez with titles on the line.
Lomachenko and Nakatani will headline an ESPN+ card set for the last Saturday of June. The boxers are expected to enter the ring at about 10 p.m. ET on June 26, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
When: Saturday, June 26, 2021
Where: Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, Paradise, Nevada
Why: Lightweight contender fight
Vasyl Lomachenko vs Masayoshi Nakatani Betting Odds
Vasyl Lomachenko -1450
Masayoshi Nakatani +737
Although he lost his last fight and now has two losses in his professional career, Lomachenko is still a massive favorite over Nakatani per the boxing betting odds. At this price, a bettor would have to wager $1450 on Lomachenko to win $100. Conversely, a $100 bet on Nakatani would return $737 if he were to deal Lomachenko his third defeat.
As the fight nears, there will be decision betting too. You will be able to bet on whether the fight is decided by KO, TKO, or decision, and you can bet on which boxer will win the fight in that fashion as well.
Vasyl Lomachenko vs Masayoshi Nakatani Preview
We’ve never seen a better amateur boxer than Vasyl Lomachenko in the modern era. His only loss as an amateur in almost 400 fights came in the gold medal match of the 2007 World Championships as a 19-year-old. He avenged that defeat and then some over the next five years.
Lomachenko won the gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2009 World Championships as a featherweight. He followed that up by winning gold at the 2011 World Championships and 2012 Summer Olympics as a lightweight. That led to Lomachenko being heralded as the future of boxing, and he made his much-anticipated professional debut in October 2013.
He was extremely impressive in a fourth-round TKO of Jose Luis Ramirez to win the WBO International featherweight belt in his first professional fight. Lomachenko received a title shot in his second professional fight, but he lost a very controversial split decision to Orlando Salido. Salido showed up overweight and was 11 pounds heavier than Lomachenko on fight night, and he threw multiple low blows that the referee ignored.
That controversy allowed Lomachenko to challenge for the title again in his third fight, and this time he won a majority decision over Gary Russell Jr. to earn the WBO featherweight belt. He defended that belt three times before moving up to junior lightweight. Lomachenko scored a fifth-round knockout of Roman Martinez to win the WBO junior lightweight title, and he stopped all four of his opponents in subsequent title defenses.
Lomachenko moved up to lightweight in May 2018. He scored a tenth-round TKO over Jorge Linares to win the WBA and The Ring lightweight titles, and he added the WBO lightweight strap with a unanimous decision win over Jose Pedraza six months later. He picked up the WBC lightweight belt with a unanimous decision win over Luke Campbell in August 2019, but he lost all those titles to Lopez in October.
It was a strange loss for Lomachenko, as he did not look like himself. He let Lopez control the first seven rounds, putting himself too far behind on the scorecards to make up the difference in the end. Word broke soon after that Lomachenko had injured his right shoulder in training, and he underwent surgery following the fight. He is reported to be back at 100% with no training camp injuries ahead of this bout.
Masayoshi Nakatani is something of an unknown. He ran his record to 18-0 in Japan and was the undisputed OPBF lightweight champion for five years before heading to the United States to face Lopez. He lost a unanimous decision to Lopez in his first major fight, but he did score a ninth-round TKO over Felix Verdejo in December.
Nakatani will have a six-inch reach advantage on Lomachenko, and he is 4 ½ inches taller than the former champion. That will give the underdog some hope for pulling off the upset. However, Lomachenko is a lot more seasoned even though he has fought less fights, as all of his professional bouts have been against contenders.
Log into BookMaker to bet on Vasyl Lomachenko vs Masayoshi Nakatani. BookMaker is the nation's leading online sportsbook and the premier site to bet on boxing.
