Almost seven months after becoming three-time world champion, Ukrainian Vasiliy Lomachenko, considered by many to be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, will take to the ring this Saturday at the Hulu Theater of Madison Square Garden to defend his new championship of the World Boxing Association for the first time against Puerto Rican Jose Pedraza.

With just five years as a professional and an 11-1 record with 10 knockouts, ‘Hi-Tech’ Lomachenko will look for his fourth world title belt and is the favorite to defeat Pedraza, who will risk the World Boxing Organization’s belt that he won, just like Vasiliy, in this same year.

Lomachenko fought three times at Madison Square Garden and in all of them he won by knockout . He first dethroned Roman ‘Rocky’ Martinez as super bantamweight world champion, then he took the unbeaten record away from Guillermo Rigondeaux and in 2018 dethroned Jorge Linares to achieve the feat.

According to the betting lines, the Ukrainian is a big favorite to come out with the win; however, he will have to demonstrate that he has recovered from the injury he had in his right shoulder with which he fought against Linares last May, in a battle in which he visited the canvas before ending up with his hand raised.

Vasiliy also has the motivation of recent Ukrainian boxing victories with Oleksandr Usyk, also champion of the WBA at cruiserweight, and Oleksandr Gvozdyk, who dethroned Adonis Stevenson on Saturday as light heavyweight champion.

Pedraza, who was already a super featherweight champion and barely devoted himself as a lightweight champion, knows that he must have a perfect night to overthrow Vasiliy and guarantee a place in the elite of current pugilism, in addition to achieving the greatest victory of his career. Boxing of Puerto Rico in a long time. ‘Sniper’ will arrive with a record of 25-1 and 12 knockouts.