Vasiliy Lomachenko floored Richard Commey tough in Spherical 7, leaving his opponent on wobbly legs and in giant difficulties. He pleaded with Commey’s nook to stop the competition, however it approved the marquee battle to go on.
The stoppage by no means materialized for Lomachenko following that, however he nonetheless gained in dominant development on Saturday at New York’s Madison Sq. Yard, a unanimous conclusion victory that ongoing his march in direction of yet one more shot at boxing’s light-weight title.
Within the cease, the scores had been being 117-110, 119-108 and 119-108, and neither fighter appeared surprised when the selection was introduced.
“I noticed his state of affairs, it was fairly laborious for him,” Lomachenko, a local of Ukraine, claimed of the seventh spherical. “That is why I discussed, ‘Hey, halt the battle.’ He’s a correct warrior. He has a large coronary coronary heart and we proceed and we current for people 12 nice rounds.”
“On this fats division, we have now a considerable amount of incredible fighters,” Lomachenko included, “so we will organize an entire lot of great fights sooner or later.”
The perfect battle of all for Lomachenko, on the second, could be with George Kambosos Jr., who upset Teofimo Lopez for the undisputed light-weight championship two months again. Lopez was coming off his possess upset victory, a conclusion get about Lomachenko earlier October.
With a rematch from Lopez not his priority, Lomachenko (16-2, 11 KOs) mentioned he’ll trip to Australia for a shot at Kambosos. That’s, of system, if Kambosos picks him. There ended up 4 substantial-stakes bouts within the 135-pound division inside 15 instances. Instantly after Kambosos’ victory in New York, he traveled to Las Vegas to look at Devin Haney outpoint Joseph Diaz Jr.
The adhering to working day, the Australian was ringside in Los Angeles for Gervonta Davis’ extra durable-than-envisioned win round Isaac Cruz.
“I’ll want this chance [for the undisputed title],” claimed Lomachenko, 33. “I’ll go wherever I wish to go to battle him. … I need all 4 belts.”
The 2-time Olympic gold medalist appeared in classic kind, using angles and noteworthy footwork to return throughout openings to produce pinpoint punches. Lomachenko absorbed a number of powerful pictures, notably to the physique, from the match Ghanaian, however the punches by no means appeared to affect him.
Lomachenko’s pictures, however, did bother Commey. He picked apart the significantly a lot bigger Commey within the clinch, demonstrating off his at any time-enhancing inside match.
A earlier 126- and 130-pound winner, Lomachenko broke by in Spherical 7 when a sweeping left crashed into Commey’s chin and dropped him to the canvas. However alternatively of closing in for the outstanding end, Loma motioned to educate Andre Rozier to protect Commey from extra injury.
Then Lomachenko poured on a barrage of punches, and Commey as soon as once more appeared ready to go. Referee Steve Willis moved in for nearer inspection as Commey’s legs appeared bent, shades of his 2nd-spherical TKO discount to Lopez two a very long time in the past. However Commey in a roundabout way made it out of the spherical, and with it, Lomachenko dropped his minute, doubtlessly, to face out amid the lightweights.
By the point Spherical 8 rolled throughout, Commey (30-4, 27 KOs) seemingly cleared his head. He absorbed quite a bit way more punishment because the rounds tolled however the earlier titleholder was by no means ever over again in severe hazard.
Commey, who entered the bout rated No. 9 by ESPN at lightweight, threw much more punches than Lomachenko, but was outlanded 248 to 73. Even in defeat, Commey improved his stock with the gutsy vitality and assisted wipe away the picture of Lopez’s domination to get the title.
Lomachenko, in the meantime, is attempting to get previous his private loss to Lopez. ESPN’s No. 2 lightweight stopped gatekeeper Masayoshi Nakatani in June, his preliminary movement since surgical procedures to fix a torn rotator cuff. He fought Lopez with the accidents, and topped his rival by delivering a superior performance in opposition to Nakatani (Lopez had struggled to a call recover from Nakatani in 2019).
However in opposition to Commey, he did not outdo Lopez, and it stays to be observed if the general efficiency was sufficient to entice Kambosos into the ring. Lomachenko confirmed no curiosity in a proposed fight with 130-pound champion Shakur Stevenson, indicating that his solely goal is to fight for 135-pound titles, however there are different stunning fights at light-weight. A fight with Davis would crank out vital skilled fascination, as would a bout with Haney.
No topic whom he fights following, Lomachenko is nevertheless an individual of the ten best pound-for-pound boxers within the globe. The mission stays the identical, and he is a single transfer nearer to a shot on the undisputed championship.