By David Martinez / dmboxing.com

Next week, on Saturday, May 12th boxing will get a true candidate for Fight of the Year when WBO junior lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko (10-1 / 8 by KO) moves up from 130 pounds to 135 pounds to challenge WBA lightweight champion Jorge Linares  (44-3 / 27 by KO) in a bout scheduled for 12 rounds at Madison Square Garden, New York. The fight will air live on ESPN.

Lomachenko, 30, former Olympic Gold medalist from the Ukraine, accomplished a boxing record for the fewest fights to win titles in two weight divisions and now goes for number three against arguably his toughest opponent.

Linares, 32, a native of Venezuela, enters the fight on a 13 straight win streak dating back to 2012 and is, physically, the bigger of the two fighters.

This is certainly a fight that I am looking forward to, as are all boxing purists.  So mark your calendar for May 12, 2018;  it will truly be an evening of championship boxing.

On a personal note,  I applaud rival promoters Top Rank and Golden Boy for joining forces to get a fight of this magnitude signed, sealed, and delivered – thank you!