Vasyl Lomachenko, Ukrainian boxer
Vasyl Anatoliyovych Lomachenko (Ukrainian: Василь Анатолійович Ломаченко, IPA: [wɐˈsɪlʲ lomɐˈtʃɛnko]; born 17 February 1988), more commonly referred to as Vasiliy Lomachenko, is a Ukrainian professional boxer. He is a former world champion in three weight classes, having held the WBO featherweight title from 2014 to 2015; the WBO junior lightweight title from 2016 to 2017; and the unified WBA (Super), WBC, WBO and Ring magazine lightweight titles between 2018 and 2020.
Lomachenko is one of the most successful amateur boxers of all time, possessing a record of 396 wins and 1 loss, with that loss avenged twice. Competing in the featherweight and lightweight divisions, he won a silver medal at the 2007 World Championships, gold at the 2008 European Championships, consecutive gold at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, and consecutive gold at the 2009 and 2011 World Championships. He is known for his exceptional hand speed, timing, accuracy, creativity, athleticism, defence and footwork.
Lomachenko made his professional debut in 2013. He ties the record with Saensak Muangsurin for winning a world title in the fewest professional fights, becoming the WBO featherweight champion in his third fight. All of his professional fights except the debut were world championship fights. He made his first main event in the second professional fight.
He has won several awards by media outlets throughout his career. The Ring and ESPN named him Prospect of the Year in 2013; CBS Sports named him Boxer of the Year in 2016; HBO Sports named him Boxer of the Year in 2016 and in 2017; the Boxing Writers Association of America and The Ring named him Fighter of the Year in 2017.As of March 2022, Lomachenko is ranked as the world's seventh best active boxer, pound for pound, by The Ring and ESPN, and eighth by the Boxing Writers Association of America. He is also ranked as the world's second best active lightweight by ESPN, third by The Ring and the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and fourth by BoxRec.