Boxing has been back, but the pound-for-pound elite fighters remain invisible so far

Four months have elapsed since boxing began a gradual showcasing of televised bouts again. Yet, the sport’s pound-for-pound elite fighters remain invisible.

Before sports shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic in mid-March, the last notable boxing event was the Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder heavyweight title bout Feb. 22.

Expectations of another Fury-Wilder fight linger after seventh-round TKO victim Wilder opted for the direct rematch clause as stipulated in their contracts. Similar uncertainties surround the next bout dates for Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, Manny Pacquiao and Gennady Golovkin — three noteworthy champions on the short list of boxing’s top fighters.

For boxing fans, the absence of elite fighters on TV screens finally ends Saturday night. Vasyl Lomachenko will face Teofimo Lopez in a lightweight title unification bout in Las Vegas. A fight that would typically require the pay-per-view tag, Lomachenko-Lopez instead will air on ESPN.

The fight at the MGM Grand will feature a “bubble” environment to comply with coronavirus guidelines, although approximately 250 spectators will be allowed.

“All I can say is this has the ingredients of a major, major event,” said Bob Arum, president of Top Rank, which promotes both fighters. “I think it would be unseemly to try to do an event like this on pay-per-view, when so many people are really in harm’s way and out of work.”

Lomachenko, whom many experts consider the sport’s best fighter, is expected to face his toughest test yet as lightweight titleholder. Lopez, a former Davie resident and Florida Golden Gloves champion, considers a win over Lomachenko as his breakthrough opportunity at reaching elite level.

“When I came into professional boxing, I only wanted to fight the top fighters, with the world champions,” said Lomachenko, a 2008 and 2012 Olympic gold medalist representing his native Ukraine. “Now I have a top fighter in front of me and I want only to improve who I am and to improve my legacy.”

Lomachenko (14-1, 10 KOs) has won world titles in the featherweight, junior-lightweight and lightweight divisions. The 32-year-old Lomachenko currently is recognized as titleholder by three of the sport’s four major sanctioning bodies. His attempt at becoming undisputed champion will require dethroning Lopez, who holds the fourth sanctioning body lightweight belt.

In the buildup to Saturday’s bout, Lopez (15-0, 12 KOs) has repeatedly predicted he will end Lomachenko’s title reign with a knockout.

“I heard this from a lot of boxers,” Lomachenko said of Lopez’s pre-fight swagger. “Then you come in the ring and you forgot about your words and you forgot about what you promised. For me it’s just trash talk and just words. We’ll see what happens in the ring.”

Long before he won a lightweight title, Lopez envisioned the opportunity of removing Lomachenko from his perch, comparing it to a takeover.

“I’m not trying to get under his skin, I’m just being outspoken,” Lopez said. “Come that night, if he wants to take it out on me — great. I’m trying to take it out on him, too. That’s what makes it a good fight. At the same time, we’re trying to promote the fight.

“The fact we are facing someone of the likes like Lomachenko it’s something that will be talked about probably for the rest of my career. I know in other interviews I’ve said that I don’t want to hear about him. But I know it’s going to be a fight to be talked about because this guy is in the top five pound-for-pound list.”

Whereas Alvarez, Pacquiao and Golovkin don’t have fights planned, other elite fighters are taking Lomachenko’s lead on their ring returns following the shutdown.

THIS AND THAT

▪ Welterweight champion Terence Crawford will fight Kell Brook on Nov. 14 and fellow welterweight titleholder Errol Spence Jr. will face Danny Garcia on Dec. 5. The bout will be Spence’s first since he sustained serious injuries in an automobile accident last October.

▪ Sunrise resident Xander Zayas will return to Central Florida for his sixth professional bout Friday. Zayas will fight an unannounced opponent at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee.

▪ After a decorated amateur career highlighted by multiple national championships, Zayas, 18, turned professional last October and has won his first five bouts. Last month, Zayas scored a first-round knockout over Orlando Salgado in the same venue he will fight Friday night.

▪ Coming up — Friday (12 a.m., Telemundo-Ch. 51): Emanuel Colon vs. Antonio Moran, 10, junior-welterweights; Xander Zayas vs. opponent TBA, 6, welterweights.

▪ Saturday (10 p.m., ESPN): Vasyl Lomachenko vs. Teofimo Lopez, 12, for the unified WBA, WBC, WBO and IBF lightweight titles.