Sunday, June 22, 2014

Vasyl Lomachenko wins WBO title in third pro fight

Vasyl Lomachenko beat Gary Russell Jr. by majority decision to win the vacant WBO featherweight title Saturday night — and it was only his third professional fight.

The Ukrainian boxer — who already lost a split decision to Orlando Salido in March — was given the hasty title shot after the Mexican fighter was stripped of his belt for failing to make the weight.  Lomachenko (2-1, 1KO) seemed like the underdog against Russell (24-1, 14 KO) — who came into the bout with plenty of critics but without a loss .

And Russell's lack of preparation in his first world title fight showed, as he was outclassed by Lomachenko at the StubHub Center fight in Carson, Calif.



While Russell did manage to hit his opponent with quick combinations in the early rounds, Lomachenko settled down and scored a left uppercut to the chin before stunning Russell right at the final bell.




Lomachenko won on majority decision scores of 116-112, 116-112, and 114-114.

Russell's been regularly criticized for his lack of quality opposition, and the inarguable fact is he fought Lomachenko on Showtime without ever having shared the ring with a top 10 contender previously.

Lomachenko was simply much more effective Saturday night. Russell, whose hand speed looked good,  didn't have much to offer on offense. He got slower as the fight wore on and was knocked around by the Ukrainian. Lomachenko still showed some troublesome amateur habits, and took a passive stance at times, often letting a clearly hurt Russell off the hook.

But he's wearing the belt today.



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