The year 2017 has been outstanding for the sweet science and it is set to end with a bang.
Credit: Top Rank
Lomachenko vs. Rigondeaux
On Friday, Top Rank Boxing announced a mammoth title bout between WBO super featherweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko and WBA super bantamweight titleholder Guillermo Rigondeaux. Best yet, the fight will be broadcast on ESPN on December 9, live from Madison Square Garden.
If you're a casual fan, those two names may not mean much to you, but if your affinity for the sport goes beyond the heavyweight division and names like Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, and Canelo Alvarez, then you know how big of a fight this is within boxing circles.
This year has delivered multiple strong, championship matchups featuring big-name fighters against other top-notch competition–and the Canelo-Golovkin fight hasn't even happened yet.
When was the last time you could legitimately say, there have been too many good-to-great matchups in boxing to remember in a calendar year? I've been a fan of the sport since 1981 and I can't recall a year as stacked as 2017.
Even the Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor spectacle fit nicely in-between the more serious bouts of the year. As you can see from the reaction of several in the boxing community, this fight is an example of the best fighting the best.
Follow
CompuBox @CompuBox
Best vs. Best. 2017 on a roll.
#boxinghttps://twitter.com/trboxing/status/908733030424104960
2017 has been a great year for
#boxing.
https://twitter.com/rigoelchacal305/status/908734489622282241 …
LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 05: Vasyl Lomachenko looks on prior to a fight with Miguel Marriaga of Columbia at during their WBO World Championship Junior Lightweight title fight at the Microsoft Theater on August 5, 2017, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
The two men are a combined 26-1 with 18 KOs as professionals, but their amateur records are astounding. Lomachenko was 396-1 before turning pro, with two Olympic gold medals, and Rigondeaux was reportedly 463-12 in the amateur ranks with a pair of Olympic medals to his credit as well. The two men have already won a combined five world titles.
LAS VEGAS, NV - JUNE 17: Guillermo Rigondeaux looks on after his super bantamweight championship bout against Moises Flores at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on June 17, 2017, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Rigondeaux won by knockout in the first round. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
This fight will be contested at super featherweight, which means Rigondeaux will have to move up two weight classes to challenge Lomachenko. That quickly shows you which fighter is the A-side in the negotiations, and the man likely to take home the largest payday.
In any case, this battle of smaller weight superstars is a perfect way to end a high-profile and successful year for our sport.