Ni Gilbert Espeña

ININSULTO ng kampo ni WBO super featherweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko si eight division world champion Manny Pacquiao hingil sa napabalitang negosasyon para sa duwelo ng Pinoy champion.

Ayon sa manager ni Lomanchenko na si Egis Klimas, malabong labanan ng Ukrainian boxer si Pacquiao dahil sa edad nito.

Pinasinungalingan din ni Klimas ang sinabi ni Pacquiao na may negosasyon para makasagupa niya ang Ukrainian two-time Olympic gold medal winner na kasalukuyang No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer sa buong mundo.

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Ayon kay Klimas, malaki ang diperensiya ng timbang nina Pacquiao na matagal nang lumalaban sa 147 pounds division at ni Lomachenko na posibleng umangat na sa lightweight o 135 pounds division sa susunod nitong laban.

“No, we are not fighting Pacquiao. Manny Pacquiao is calling out Lomachenko, who is three weight classes down the scale from him. Manny Pacquiao is 147 pounds and he’s calling out Lomachenko, who is 130 pounds. That’s insane,” sabi ni Klimas sa ESPN.

“He’s an old man and Lomachenko beating him takes him nowhere. If the fight happened they’ll all say Lomachenko beat an old man and made him come down [in weight],” diin ni Klimas. “Even if he beat Pacquiao, they’d say he beat an old guy who was basically retired. We want to fight active champions dominating their weight classes.”

Kinuwestiyon din ni Klimas ang intensiyon ni Pacquiao kung bakit hinahamon ang alaga niyang boksingero.

“Look, we have our own agenda, our own road and our own plans. That’s where we’re going,” dagdag ni Klimas. “There’s a lot of champions and good guys at 130 or 135 pounds. That’s where we’re going. Why isn’t Pacquiao calling out [Terence] Crawford? Crawford is moving into Pacquiao’s weight class. Why doesn’t he call out [Mikey] Garcia, who is at 140?”