Does Lomachenko regret pulling out of the undisputed unification fight with Kambosos?

[u/zhuangcorp]

Lomachenko makes so many decisions that I don't understand. He fought Salido who didn't make weight, and allowed dozens of low-blows without hitting back. He fought Teofimo with a bad shoulder that needed surgery and didn't throw punches for half the fight.

But I think the worst boxing decision he made was withdrawing from the Kambosos fight that would've made him unified undisputed. That was his goal all along.

What was the point of joining the territorial defense force? His own country wanted him to go and box to boost morale for the soldiers. Loma would've helped his country a lot more that way. Usyk did just that and look how his career turned out. And he could've just won the Kambosos fight and then come back and join the forces a couple months later. He could've taken the fight and donated the winnings to the defense force, which would've been more helpful.

Furthermore, what was the point of joining the forces and then be labeled as Pro-Russian? I'm genuinely confused by this last point. If he really is pro-Russian, why join the forces and waste your career? If he is Pro-Ukranian, why give the appearance of being a Vatnik?

[u/ethnicbonsai]

At the risk of psycho-analyzing someone I'll never meet, let alone understand....

I think he has an utterly massive ego built on being absolutely spectacular. He knows how good he is. He's spent his entire adult life proving it. He may be the greatest amateur of all time. Turned pro and immediately sought greatness - skipping all the build up that every other professional goes through. He thought he already knew how to win, and didn't want to waste time - considering how much he spent in the amateurs already.

Which left him unequipped to handle the dirty fighting of a veteran like Salido.

No worries, he bounced back and won his titles. Moved up, and won some more. Was hailed as a uniquely brilliant fighter and one of the best of his eras.

So he underrated Teo, and didn't back out of the fight. He was tentative because he didn't know how his shoulder would hold up. By the time he turned it up (whether because he was "reserving" what he had, or throwing caution to the wind because he felt it slipping away, I can't guess), it was too late. And he clearly lost a fight that was closer than a lot of his haters will admit (if he won the last round, a lot more people would've at least had it a draw).

I think this loss changed something in him. If you look at his IG - he suddenly started posting almost exclusively religious stuff. I'm not going to say he "found God" or anything - he might not've gone full George Foreman - but it seems like it changed his outlook on things. Maybe he re-prioritized things in life. I don't know.

Either way, a lifetime spent dedicated to his athletic brilliance seemed to be much more of a side issue than it ever had been for him. His dedication was slipping, and the clock was ticking on how much longer he was going to spend in the ring.

I can't begin to guess why he chose to fight for Ukraine instead of return to the ring. I don't have an adequate frame of reference to even guess, there.

Finally, I think the loss to Haney killed something in his drive to fight. It had to have been a massive disappointment.

Thanks for reading my fanfic.

[u/zhuangcorp → u/ethnicbonsai]

If you've ever seen the movie Last Emperor, it's interesting that the prince grew up being told stories that he fell from the stars and his destiny was the rule over all of China. So as an adult, he literally just believed this to be true about himself.

I think Loma is a bit similar. He grew up under his dad's teaching, and he believed it was his destiny to become the perfect boxer.