Horn has started early training for his first world championship fight against Pacquiao, who is putting his WBO welterweight belt on the line. Horn’s trainer has yet to make arrangement with Lomachengko, who is being promoted by Bob Arum’s Top Rank Promotions.
“I would dearly love to get Lomachenko to work with Jeff because like Pacquiao he is so fast and razor sharp,” said Horn’s trainer Glenn Rushton.
Other than Lomachengko, Rushton is also eying Errol Spence as Horn other possible sparring partner. But Rushton is inclined to tap Lomachengko over Spence.
“Pacquiao boxes with an intensity unlike most fighters but Lomachenko is a ring genius. I want guys who are lighter than Jeff (67kg) as sparring partners so they can simulate the same sort of speed and movement that has made Pacquiao such a star,” Ruston added.
Lomachengko is the reigning WBO Junior Lightweight champion while Spence is set to challenge Kell Brook for the IBF welterweight title on May 27.
While Lomachengko could bring out the best in Horn on fight night, it could also present some problems with his promoter because Lomachengko is a reigning world titlist and it would be very expensive to hire him to spar with Horn. Besides, not many reigning world champions do sparring jobs for a fee because of the possibility of injury which could derail their next title fights.
Perhaps it would be better for Rushton to hire someone who already sparred with Pacquiao in the past because he would have first hand knowledge of Pacquiao’s strength and weaknesses.
Lomachengko resembles Pacquiao’s fighting style. Like Pacquiao, he moves fast and has also power in his left being a southpaw. But he hasn’t fought and sparred with Pacquiao and therefore he has limited actual knowledge of his fighting style.
Hopefully, Rushton could work it out with either Lomachengko or Spence as Horn’s spar mates but there is no guarantee that getting Lomachengko or Spence would spell out victory for Horn.
Horn is definitely a good boxer, having won 16 of his seventeen pro fights but facing Pacquiao in the ring with his limited credential is premature if not downright farcical. Read more.
Still, Horn can look forward to pull off the upset over the world’s only eight-division champ. It would be a shining moment for the 29-year-old unbeaten challenger if indeed he can pull off the upset on July 2.
