Ukraine’s Vasyl Lomachenko (7-1, 5 KOs) is scheduled to defend his WBO world super featherweight championship against Camden, New Jersey, native Jason Sosa (20-1-4, 15 KOs) on Saturday night in Oxon Hill, Maryland. HBO will televise their 12-round fight, in which Lomachenko is a 25-1 favorite, as the main event of a “World Championship Boxing” tripleheader from MGM National Harbor, a new casino & resort just outside of Washington, D.C.
Lomachenko’s last fight took place in November when he stopped Nicholas Walters after the seventh round. Sosa also fought in November and beat Stephen Smith by a 12-round unanimous decision. Lomachenko won the WBO title against Roman ‘Rocky’ Martinez of Puerto Rico via a fifth-round stoppage last June and is also a former WBO Featherweight Champion. He’s 29 years old and has a pro record of just 7-1 with 5 Kos, but Lomachenko is considered by many to be the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world. As for Sosa, the WBA stripped him of the title for taking this bout against Lomachenko.
Sosa, who was named the Philly Fighter of the Year for 2016, is a fan-friendly aggressive fighter who has so far passed his tests when stepping up in class. But Lomachenko may be in a class of his own at this stage of his career. Sosa has a lot of heart and will give his best effort on Saturday, but unfortunately it probably won’t be enough as he’s in against an elite boxer in Lomachenko. It may go several rounds, but look for Lomachenko to retain his title with a relatively comfortable decision or stoppage.
So here are the most common betting odds from online sportsbooks: Jason Sosa +1200, Vasyl Lomachenko -2500.
Given what Sosa did to Fortuna as a massive underdog, it’s hard to turn down these odds if you’re betting the fight. In fact, if you are going to place money on this fight, it would be better to back Sosa simply based on the value. The guy is proven, tough and way too talented to be this big of an underdog. But speaking about predictions, Lomachenko is simply better due to the pure boxing skills. Sosa is more of an aggressive pitbull who swings for the fences and eventually breaks down his opponent. Lomachenko is the better boxer who has quality offense and defense, and he won’t fall for Sosa’s traps in trading power punches. Lomachenko has the edge in pretty much every turn in this fight and is simply a rare breed who can beat an opponent in a variety of ways.
The value is with Sosa, but Lomachenko should win.
