Vasiliy Lomachenko Labels Masayoshi Nakatani As ‘Perfect Challenge’ For Him

Vasiliy Lomachenko‘s road to regaining his lightweight titles begins this weekend.

Lomachenko competes for the first time since losing his lightweight titles against Teofimo Lopez last October when he clashes with Masayoshi Nakatani on Saturday night.

While they both have losing to Lopez in common, Nakatani — a perennial contender — is far from an easy matchup. But that’s how Lomachenko wanted it.

“What inspired me to take this fight is the fact that I just lost all of my titles,” Lomachenko told BoxingScene.com. “I have to start from scratch and wanted to face a top contender.

“I didn’t want a (hand-picked) opponent. This guy gave Teofimo Lopez a very tough fight and I have prepared well for his challenge.”

Lomachenko will also face a significant size disadvantage with Nakatani towering over him by five inches at 6 feet tall.

But that is only a small part of what contributed to the Japanese lightweight being the perfect challenge for the former lightweight champion.

“He is strong, very tall and very long arms,” Lomachenko added. “He has experience at the top level, as he showed in a (competitive) fight with Lopez and the way he was able to beat Verdejo.

“This is the perfect challenge for me. I’ve always aimed to face the highest level of competition.”

Who do you think comes out on top?