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Vasyl Lomachenko’s father and trainer, Anatoly, paves way to success for his fighters

Vasyl Lomachenko celebrates his ninth-round knockout victory over Gamalier Rodriguez in their featherweight title fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Vasyl Lomachenko celebrates his ninth-round knockout victory over Gamalier Rodriguez in their featherweight title fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
(Eric Jamison / Associated Press)
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Anatoly Lomachenko’s philosophy is simple. There is always something new to learn from every fight.

As the father-trainer of one the world’s best boxers prepares to send his son and two other Ukrainian fighters he’s coached since their amateur days to the top of an HBO-televised card in Maryland next month, the lesson imparted was to learn English.

So instead of waiting for an interpreter to convert his Russian to an English-speaking audience, super-featherweight world champion Vasyl Lomachenko felt comfortable enough in English to joke with reporters.

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“Maybe, after a couple more interviews, you need to learn Russian,” World Boxing Organization champion Vasyl Lomachenko joked. “Now, I can explain my mind, all of what I’m thinking. We’re starting this conversation … .”

It hasn’t been too difficult to understand the ring talents of Lomachenko (7-1, five knockouts), the two-time Olympic gold medalist who made Nicholas Walters quit after seven rounds in November and now moves on to fight Jason Sosa (20-1-4, 15 KOs) on April 8 at a new MGM resort near Baltimore.

Countryman and fellow 2012 Olympic gold medalist Oleksandr Usyk will defend his WBO cruiserweight belt against Michael Hunter in the co-main event and Ukraine light-heavyweight Oleksandr Gvozdyk (12-0, 10 KOs) also is on the card.

“It reminds us of preparing for the Olympic Games,” 2012 bronze medalist Gvozdyk said during a training session in Oxnard. “It’s more difficult for foreign countries, especially the former Soviet Union, to be popular here, because while they recognize us, we’re still like aliens. Maybe the situation will be changed … . We just have to show our boxing skills, kick everybody’s [rear] and make everyone watch.”

The path to doing that, Gvozdyk said, is paved by the elder Lomachenko.

“Lomachenko’s father made this team. He created it. He’s just too humble to say it. But it’s true,” Gvozdyk said in perfect English. “Ask Usyk. It’s not only about boxing. He’s a psychologist, a leader. He says something and you believe in it. Because everything he tells you, it works.”

Anatoly Lomachenko granted a rare interview to the Los Angeles Times to discuss his strategy.

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“To see all of them here — my countrymen — is very satisfying,” the elder Lomachenko said. “They have some other coaches, but I’m very happy to watch them all succeed.

“We take one opponent at a time and get ready for that one opponent. It’s not up for me to say [Vasyl] is the best right now. … Every opponent is different. You’d like to throw one punch and knock them out, but that doesn’t happen, so you prepare for each opponent individually and do different work for each guy. My son’s not perfect, there’s always things to improve.”

While Vasyl Lomachenko praised the toughness and endurance of New Jersey’s Sosa, he admitted “my opponent is not a top fighter … . When I fight [more] in the future — [against lightweight champions] Mikey [Garcia], [Jorge] Linares, [Terry] Flanagan — it’s another story.”

Winning those fights, Lomachenko said, would put him in more legitimate standing as the world’s top pound-for-pound fighter.

Veteran promoter Bob Arum said Lomachenko is already there.

“This is the best fighter I’ve seen since Muhammad Ali,” Arum said. “There’s nobody who can do what he can. Nobody. He’s in a class by himself. While he’s performing at his maximum level, I want him to get maximum exposure and for everybody to enjoy it.”

Arum tantalized by saying his plan for Lomachenko is to fight WBO champion Flanagan next, then pursue a date later this year against unbeaten Garcia of Riverside, whom Arum formerly promoted and split with following a lengthy legal dispute.

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“There’s no acrimony,” Arum said. “That was yesterday. As of today, there’s no acrimony and you can’t stay in this business for 51 years and carry grudges. You can’t. There’s no disputes. I love that fight. And I don’t think anyone beats my guy.”

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