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Vasyl Lomachenko vs Anthony Crolla: Loma reveals career plan and why he accepted mandatory bout

The pair meet soon at the Staples Centre

Wednesday 03 April 2019 11:20 BST

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Anthony Crolla prepares for Vasyl Lomachenko fight

Pound-for-pound king Vasyl Lomachenko has revealed that he plans to unify the lightweight division before moving back down to clean up the super-featherweight ranks.

The Ukrainian has a mandatory defence of his WBA (Super) belt, with both the WBO and The Ring straps up for grabs when he faces Anthony Crolla on 12th April, but appears to already be looking beyond the contest.

With teammate and close friend Oleksandr Usyk having made history by winning every single belt at cruiserweight, Loma hopes to emulate his countryman and win all the titles the lightweight has to offer.

Mikey Garcia currently holds the WBC strap, while Richard Commey has the IBF and with those potential super fights lined up, the Lomachenko is confident he can win them all before dropping back down a division.

“Right now, I am a lightweight, but lightweight is not my ideal weight category,” Lomachenko admitted.

February top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world

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1/16February top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world

February top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world

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The ranking of The Independent's 10 best male boxers on the planet. Take a look through to see who comes out on top.

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1. Vasyl Lomachenko (14-1-0)

There can only be one. The king of the amateur game has stepped up to become the king of the professionals. Just 15 fights into his career and despite one career defeat, the current unified lightweight world champion sets records for days. Loma won a world title in his third fight, became a two-weight champion in his seventh, and a three-weight champion in his twelfth fight. The king. Less magic against a brave Luke Campbell, but more brutality, slashing body shots and exquisite balance and movement. Who's next? Commey, Lopez, Davis?

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“My goal now is to unify all four titles. And then, we’ll see. Maybe I’ll move back down to 130 pounds and win world titles there for a second time.”

Despite his plans, a fight against Crolla lay ahead first – and the Olympic great admitted that he doesn’t know much about his opponent.

That won’t stop him from preparing astutely, however.

“I don’t know too much about him. But I know him from his two fights with Jorge Linares. I do know he is an aggressive fighter. I like to fight guys who come forward.

“I’ll prepare like always. We are training hard. I will put on a great performance for my fans in Los Angeles and on ESPN. I’ll show everyone my best style and hope everyone enjoys it.

“I want to fight the best. But now, Crolla is the best choice. He is the mandatory challenger and wanted to fight me. That is why I accepted this fight.”

When asked what he thinks will happen in the fight, Lomachenko wasn't giving anything away.

“I don’t know. I can’t see in the future. It depends on how he fights. We’ll see.”

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