Vasyl Lomachenko v. Jose Pedraza set for December 8 inside MSG

Ukrainian royalty will invade New York City once again. Vasyl Lomachenko and Jose Pedraza will fight on December 8 inside the Hulu Theater inside Madison Square Garden. The fight, streamed on ESPN, will be a title unification bout; Lomachenko defending his WBA Lightweight title and Pedraza defending his WBO Lightweight title. Credit to Ring TV for reporting the bout.

The reason for December 8? With the Heisman Trophy presentation on ESPN beforehand, and in New York, Top Rank is looking to take advantage of the viewers who could switch over to boxing. It is an extremely bold and calculating move on the part of CEO Bob Arum.

This will be Lomachenko’s (11-1) first defense of his title since beating Jorge Linares back in May. That fight, a tenth round TKO win, was inside the confines of MSG. Lomachenko is just coming back from torn labrum surgery. With nine wins via KO, the 30-year-old is hoping to move even further in the ranks of the boxing world. With a very passionate crowd on his side, the Hulu Theater could be “Loma’s” personal playground.

The fight was scheduled after Pedraza (25-1) beat Ray Beltran via unanimous decision on August 25 for the WBO belt. Pedraza has 12 wins via KO and 13 via decision.

Boxing will continue its hot streak with this lightweight showdown. As the dominant young gun in boxing, Lomachenko will look to continue his hot streak. Can Pedraza halt his momentum and secure his spot as the top dog in boxing?