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.

Orlando Cruz falls short of becoming first openly gay boxer to win world title

Orlando Cruz fell short in his historic bid to become the first openly-gay boxing world champion as he lost to Orlando Salido at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

The Puerto Rican fighter was the first active boxer to come out last year and earned his shot at the vacant WBO featherweight title with two subsequent victories.

But Cruz (20-3-1, 10 KOs), who suffered a seventh-round knockout loss, fell short in his first  bout at the highest level as he was out-fought and overpowered by Salido who was crowned champion for the third time.

Salido's last reign came to an end in January when the 32-year-old Mexican was stopped by Mikey Garcia but the new champion then weighed in heavy for his first defense against Juan Manuel Lopez.

Although he won the fight in the fourth round, his indiscretion meant he could not retain the title.

That offered Salido the chance to regain his place at the top of the division — one he wasn't going to let slip away.

A tentative first round saw Cruz — wearing rainbow trunks — twice warned for low blows as both men showed a reluctance to commit in the opening stages.

But it was Salido who increased the tempo in the second round, taking control of the centre of the ring and showing more conviction in his punches.

The 32-year-old Cruz continued to show a reluctance to engage as he attempted to dance away from his opponent and Salido eased into an early lead on the scorecards.

As if finally acknowledging the deficit, Cruz began to fight fire with fire in the fourth session but the volume of punches from Salido continued to increase.

Having soaked up the best Salido could offer, Cruz enjoyed his best round in the fifth but was soon retreating again as the bout reached the halfway stage.

After Cruz's valiant challenge and burst of power ran out of gas, a right hook and left uppercut from Salido ended the fight just over a minute into the seventh round.

Salido is expected to defend his title against amateur sensation Vasyl Lomachenko in January after the Ukrainian began his professional career with a stoppage victory.