Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. Masayoshi Nakatani: Prediction fight, card, start time, odds, how to watch

One of the best boxers in the world will be looking to return to the column for victory this weekend when Vasiliy Lomachenko returns to the ring against Masayoshi Nakatani. The action takes place on Saturday from Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas (22:00 ET, ESPN +).

Lomachenko (14-2, 10 KOs) will fight for the first time since losing to Teofimo Lopez last October. The loss cost Lomachenko his lightweight WBA and WBO titles as the division moved completely to a youth movement. Lomachenko out of most of the most potential fight struggles 135 kilos.

Despite putting a lot of attention on Lopez, Gervonta Davis, Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia, Lomachenko remains a solid option for a rematch with Lopez for the next fight if he wins against Nakatani.

This fight is not a smooth path to the fight for Lomachenko. Nakatani (19-1, 13 KOs) is a tall and tough fighter, which gave Lopez quite a bit of trouble in the 2019 fight, despite losing a lot on the scoring cards. In the final outing, Nakatani twice took himself off the floor in the ninth matchday to knock out Felix Verdejo.

The Nakatani fighting man of the night will be much taller, will have an advantage of almost five inches in height, and will be much more natural in light weight. Many have talked, though not on Lomachenko’s part, that returning 130 pounds would be the best career as Lomachenko moves towards the end of his career. It will show how the fight with Nakatani behaves if it is true in that mindset.

Top Rank teammate Bob Arum has said Lomachenko focuses on big names in lightweight, and proposes to fight Davis and Haney in addition to competing with Lopez.

“Obviously, if Lomachenko wins, he doesn’t want to wait and wait,” Arum said FightHype. “Lomachenko just wants to fight the best, and who are the best? Maybe Devin Haney or maybe Tank Davis. I mean, Loma would take big challenges on both of them, and we’d love to play those games. Definitely a two-tango again.”

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This card does not go beyond the main event. Top Rank will offer a five-fight preliminary card before the two-fight main card at 10pm ET. The first fight on the main card will be a middleweight match between Janibek Alimkhanuly and Rob Brant. Alimkhanuly has yet to prove defeat within the ring since winning five playoffs in nine career fights. Brant has no progress, but has a 26-2 record with 18 playoffs.

You can check out the full ticket below with William Hill Sportsbook prices.

Lomachenko vs Nakatani card, odds

Forecast

Nakatani has the physical tools and mentality to be tough for Lomachenko, for sure. However, Lomachenko may be his worst enemy in the fight. He can’t give up the first half of the fight like he did against Lopez. He will make a cup or two to try to guess the right angles and approaches to take against Nakatani. When he has a bit of information, Lomachenko needs to apply and start using his world-class skills to keep turns and pile up, it seems hard to get a stop in any case beyond the court stop due to inflammation. Selection: Vasiliy Lomachenko via UD