LOMA THE BEST IN MY BOOK, BUT PROOF WILL COME AT LIGHTWEIGHT

By Frank Warren

One of my favourite current boxers will, I am sure, continue to do what he does best this weekend and prove that he is right up there when it comes to the debate of who, exactly, is the best in the business.

Live and exclusive on BoxNation, the great Vasyl Lomachenko defends his WBO world super featherweight title against the 25-2 Colombian Miguel Marriaga.

Who Lomachenko’s opponent is at the moment is largely immaterial because, in my opinion, he is simply too good for everyone in his current division.

Marriaga’s two defeats have come in world title challenges against top opponents in Nicholas Walters and Oscar Valdez, but these fights were at featherweight.

This fight is probably more about keeping the Ukrainian busy and giving us another opportunity to see a master at work, than it is a severe test of his credentials.

Great as he is, you can’t help thinking that Lomachenko is now in need of a super fight, the ones that mark the top boys down the history books.

He is too good for the other super feathers at the moment, so there isn’t a defining fight there, which means he will have to go up and prove himself against bigger and stronger guys or go down and find a suitable poundage to take on, for instance, Guillermo Rigondeaux.

Moving him up would be a bit like the handicap system with the horses, but I think this is the only way you are going to see him realise his full potential.

The fights are there for him at lightweight, with Mikey Garcia now fully back in business and Jorge Linares, not forgetting our own Terry Flanagan.

Terry actually really fancies the fight and it is one I would like to see. Once he deals with his really testing mandatory against Felix Verdejo, don’t bet against Terry pitting himself against another of Top Rank’s finest.

IT WAS PLEASING to see Zelfa Barrett add to his KO-count last week with a quickfire finish to take himself to 18-0 in his latest outing in Manchester.

I’ll tell you what, he really looks the part and I think the time is now right for him to begin a belt collection.

I want to get him a title fight on the Leeds card on October 21 and then we can all sit back and enjoy the ride as the hugely charismatic Zelfa and Lyon Woodstock embark on an inevitable collision course.

What a fight that will be.

ANOTHER WHO HAS been clocking up the wins is the heavy-hitting super middleweight Mark Heffron, who is now 17-0, with 13 via KO.

Like Zelfa, Mark is now on the cusp of challenging for significant titles and I predict he will make a big impact soon. He is ready to go.

Coverage of Lomachenko-Marriaga from the Microsoft Theater in LA begins at 2am on Sunday morning, live and exclusive on BoxNation