Andrew Selby remembers a teenage Vasyl Lomachenko announcing his jaw-dropping talent to the world.
The clash between Lomachenko and Guillermo Rigondeaux at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, December 9 brings together a pair of pound-for-pound slicksters ranked among the best amateurs in history.
Both won two Olympic golds and among the other titles Lomachenko won in his astonishing 396-1 amateur career was the World Junior championships in Morocco in 2006.
On the way to gold, Lomachenko beat Selby – and left the Welshman scratching his head.
“He was unbelievable,” remembered Selby. “So fast.
“At one point, he touched his foot – and then hit me before I knew it. ‘Bloody hell,’ I thought. ‘How did he do that ?’
“He wanted me to look down at his foot and I didn’t. But he still hit me with a shot I didn’t see.
“The referee didn’t warn him. He probably didn’t see it either, it was that fast.
“That tournament was his breakthrough. After that, everyone was talking about Lomachenko and he won everything. He put everyone down in that tournament – apart from me.”
Selby is a box of tricks himself and after nine professional fights, the 28 year old is ranked in the top 10 by both the WBC and WBO.
He meets hard Mexican Maximino Flores in a WBC eliminator at the York Hall in Bethnal Green on Saturday, October 7 – Channel Five televise live – and manager Jamie Sanigar reckons Selby can go on to be “a big, big star.”He said: “The plan is to win a world title at flyweight and become an established champion before moving up.
“They are paying attention to the super flyweights in the States and up at bantamweight, there are people like Ryan Burnett and Jamie McDonnell.
“There are big fights out there for Andrew.
“He can be a big, big star.”