My Favorite Fighter is Lomachenko
My favorite of the last decade is Lomachenko. Depending on the boxing circle(s) that one is in, this may seem blasphemous on its face. Floyd Mayweather Jr. has existed within the decade, leaving an indelible mark on the game. He remained undefeated, unlike Loma. Still, despite his ring IQ, picturesque defensive prowess and excellent ability to agitate and lean into being the heel of boxing, he “ruined” the game by selling out (he alone did not “ruin” boxing, especially given boxing’s recent resurgence; black men, even those with an abundance of capital, do not have the ability to move nations to go to war, let alone dictate the direction of a sport).
A person who Floyd defeated, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, also has been a critical figure in the world of boxing over the last decade-plus, arguably more so than Floyd. I am not here to debate whether or not he is the “best” Mexican fighter of all-time, nor am I interested in discussing his steroid use. What cannot be debated—however—is the impact that he has had on Mexican boxing from here going forward. The landscape is forever changed by his imprint. Canelo and “Mexican boxing,” similar to Julio Caesar Chavez Sr., Eric Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, are forever imbricated.
And yet, Loma is still my favorite fighter. Arguably the greatest amateur boxer of all-time (396- 1, we round up to 400 tho, plus that “1”, he got his lick back), and it is blasphemous to say this as a black man, for Loma clearly is not black; and even though he did not start off, even, in the same division as Floyd Mayweather, he will be undoubtedly compared to him. “Floyd did not win gold at the Olympics!” And this is true, he did not. But “professionally” (a managerial term created and instantiated by the violence of capital), he went undefeated. As if that means anything in and of itself.
Loma is my favorite fighter and I am doing karate in the SUNY downtown-campus-basement-dojo. With Mae. Mae also comes with me to Brownsville, we have our karate gi’s in the living room of my brother’s project tenement. We look ridiculous, the whole ordeal is ridiculous. We went to the city a lot often. It was wonderful (she brought a fucking apple in her overalls to a dance event and all the Caribbeans looked at her like she was ridiculous), but then the demands of capital disillusioned us and we stopped going. I will not understand how this will have an impact on me until later.
I see Loma blocking his opponents field of vision with the jab and then a straight left (or a slip, sidestep, right-hook). I compared him to Bruce Lee and he posts a picture of Bruce Lee with Ip Man on his instagram. Serendipity meets deep study of the straight lead.
Loma is my favorite fighter. I meet Jo-Jo in Pint Sized watching the Loma fight. He then asks me about Flying Lotus and talks about how this dancer—if one can even call him that; his existence alone shatters all conceptions of artistry within the known universe—took over the show. This dancer is Storyboard P. I chuckle, let him know that that is one of my great mentors and even better friend and we bond. A couple of months after, we connect over Orpheus vs the Sirens. From there, it’s a kinetic history that is written, that is still being written till this day. A lot of that history invokes a lot of beer drinking and arguing over Mike Tyson’s status as the best heavyweight of the 90’s. He wasn’t.
Loma is my favorite fighter and I cannot stand Devin Haney. And they fight in 2023. And Haney “won.” I was pissed, Loma should have been undisputed.
But there has been a palpable antiblackness when it comes to the general critique of Devin Haney. He fights Ryan Garcia (one of the hilariously named “4 Kings” of this era, along with Devin Haney) in April. He beats Haney pretty bad. However, he gets popped for PED’s months later and Haney’s L is turned into a ND (No decision). You would think, right (?), that in a sport where the athletes literally put their lives on the line, that people would support the fighter who was cheated. But this was not the case with Haney. Instead, not only was Ryan supported, but he was allowed to express how much he hates these “niggers” and “Muslims” on social media. While also going on to support former Assassin in Chief, Donald Trump, to much applause.
Yes, beat the nigger, support the nigger-hater/rapist and get rewarded. He was not rewarded in terms of the rules of the sport (he’s been suspended, whatever that entails), but he was indeed awarded by the same civil society that Haney has long been writ out of, even before his birth. So why would we expect anything less from this debacle?
Loma is my favorite fighter and I am watching him fight Jamaine Ortiz in Texas, the night before Mae and I have to fly back to Albany in October in 2022. We are there for our friend Michaela’s wedding. It is a beautiful event (though, the beer in Austin, TX is mediocre, outside of Jester King). That weekend, we played cornhole, ate our favorite tacos and danced. Mae…she’s smiling deeply for the first time in awhile since her dad’s death. It both fills my heart with unspeakable joy and painful sorrow; I don’t want her smile to end and I cannot let her know my secret. Not now. Too ashamed, guilty, regretful. A couple of months before, I drive down with Josh and his friend to see Sunny Day Real Estate in BK, right after my uncle died. When “Every Shining Time You Arrive” plays, tears stream down my face, but my mask is somewhat obscuring them; to make out my profile is an impossibility, perhaps only in my head. I watch Loma fight and get five hours of sleep before our flight.
Loma is my favorite fighter, still, in 2024. By this time, Mae has found out my secret. And still she loves me. How? Or why? He stops George Kambosos, the man who beat Teofimo Lopez, (who “beat” Loma in 2020). Kambosos had never been beat, let alone stopped, in such brutal fashion. It’s May 12th, my papers should be turned in but they aren’t; instead, I take two incompletes. Too much thought about…giving up. Too much pain. Sorrow. My childhood cousin died two months before. I miss him dearly and wish I had called him to let him know I’m there for him. He is the son of the uncle who died before I saw Sunny Day Real Estate. They both must have felt so alone. The pain rips through me with such a force sometimes that I’m paralyzed by it. I wish things were simpler.
I am still thinking about Loma, as I watch Bam Rodriguez. He takes angles like Loma and has the combination punching similar, though with more power. Loma hasn’t fought since May. Mae still loves me. For some reason. Her capacity to heal and love and cherish and annoy and piss me off is astounding. All I want is for her wounds to heal and to wear the crown that has already been bought and paid for (to invoke Baldwin). I pray I can help her do this. Just like I pray for Loma to be undisputed all these years later, just like I pray for the world to not explode (though, I do long for it to end), so I can watch boxing, and maybe one day be among community who “isn’t trying to kill me” (Fred Moten), while laughing and crying and eating and hugging and healing.
There is more to write. But that’ll come later. When Loma is undisputed.
-Robert Williams-Taylor