The long-running feud between world champions Vasyl Lomachenko and Guillermo Rigondeaux may end with the two of them fighting at Madison Square Garden.
According to ESPN's Dan Rafael, both fighters' camps are close to completing a deal that would have two of the top pound-for-pound boxers fight on December 9 at the MSG Theater. That fight would headline a Top Rank Boxing on ESPN card, which would be Lomachenko's second straight fight broadcasted on the network. Despite both men each holding a world title, the fight would be for the WBO super featherweight title.
Lomachenko and Rigondeaux are two of the greatest amateur boxers of all time, and are both world champions at the top of their respective divisions. Both men have also won two Olympic gold medals each and have a combined amateur record of 859-13.
Top Rank's Bob Arum, who promotes Lomachenko said that there is genuine interest on both sides and the fight would be a special one.
"It would be a historic milestone in my professional career," Arum said. "It's never been done before - each of them winning two gold medals and fighting each other. That's something special. That will be remembered in history."
Arum, Roc Nation Sports and promoter Dino Duva have been working closely to making the fight a possibility, and Duva said the fight is close to being a done deal.
"We are in good, positive, serious talks and hoping it can get done. We're close to a deal. We don't have any contracts done yet, and hopefully we can get a deal done," Duva said. "We're in a pretty good place from all angles, and we're hopeful we can get it done very soon. I've been talking to Bob. We've had very good talks. We're trying to fine-tune the deal to make sure the fighters and the companies are happy. I am cautiously hopeful. It will be a great fight, a great, historic fight."
Rigondeaux, the WBA super bantamweight champion, last fought in June, when his fight against Moises Flores ended in a no contest. There was a chance that Rigondeaux and Flores would fight again after Rigondeaux knocked out Flores after the first-round bell rang in their fight, but Rigondeaux has expressed interest in fighting Lomachenko instead. Rigondeaux is the ninth-best pound-for-pound boxer on the official Fightful boxing rankings.
Lomachenko, the WBO super featherweight champion, recently defeated Miguel Marriaga in seven rounds on August 5. Lomachenko is the fourth-best pound-for-pound boxer on Fightful's latest rankings.
