Lomachenko vs Piriyapinyo
Saturday night in Macau, China, WBO featherweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko returns to action against experienced veteran Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo of Thailand. Lomachenko is perhaps the greatest amateur boxer in history and has already become a professional world-title holder within his first three fights.
Top Rank seems anxious to expand his visibility, and there can be few better venues for that than a Manny Pacquiao card. Piriyapinyo is an obscure opponent who no doubt came cheap since he lives much closer to Macau than a North American or European star.
This fight is all about building up Lomachenko for bigger things next year.
| Per Boxrec | Vasyl Lomachenko | Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo |
| Record: | 2-1, 1 KO | 52-1, 33 KOs |
| Height: | 5’6″ | 5’5.5″ |
| Reach: | 65″ | Unlisted |
| Weight: | 126 lbs | 126 lbs |
| Age: | 26 | 29 |
| Stance: | Southpaw | Orthodox |
| Hometown: | Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, Ukraine | Chonburi, Thailand |
| Rounds: | 28 | 379 |
Obviously, Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo is a far more experienced professional than Vasyl Lomachenko. He’s fought over 50 more fights and 350 more rounds.
But the quality of fighter Lomachenko faced as an elite amateur is generally far beyond the vast majority of Piriyapinyo’s competition. Aside from a challenge against Chris John in 2012, he’s faced obscure and even low-quality opposition.