Vasily Lomachenko and George Kambosos reunited on Saturday in Perth, Australia, with the vacant IBF lightweight title on the line, after years of being in each other’s social circles but not in the ring. Following his dominant boxing style, Lomachenko used body blows to knock out Kambosos twice before winning via TKO in the eleventh round.
Flawless Combination
The difference in skill between the two was evident from the start of the bout as Kambosos pursued Lomachenko but was never able to catch up to him. With his strong left hand and flawless combinations, the Ukrainian struck early and often.
Even in his best rounds, Kambosos was unable to land ten or more punches; instead, Lomachenko was able to maintain space and dictate when the two would exchange blows. When those opportunities arose, Lomachenko would cut an angle, toss a brilliant combination, and glide out of reach without waiting for a return.
When the bout entered its second half, Lomachenko started to concentrate more of his blows on the body. That paid off in Round 11, as Kambosos took a few steps back and then took a knee after receiving a crack to the liver.
After Lomachenko’s onslaught, which included two more body punches, Kambosos managed to outflank the referee’s count, but Kambosos’ corner threw in the towel.
At 2:49 in Round 11, there was a halt. “My strategy was to adapt to my opponent,” Lomachenko remarked following the bout. “I performed this during the fight. I had to put in a strong final push towards the end of the rounds. I searched for his body for the last three rounds.”
After the defeat, Kambosos had nothing but admiration for Lomachenko, praising his own determination to seek out simple bouts. Kambosos declared, “He’s one of the greatest fighters in history.” “I’m not embarrassed. I genuinely wanted to end the fight on the feet.”
Following the victory, Lomachenko was questioned over the tweet from WBA lightweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis indicating that he intended to take care of business in his next matchup with Frank Martin.
Moloney Is Retiring
“You know, I never ran around when I was a boxer,” remarked Lomachenko. “I always accept the challenge. I want to go back home and spend time with my family right now so that we may discuss the future later.” There were two new champions crowned on the undercard.
Cherneka Johnson defeated Nina Hughes in a majority decision to take the WBA bantamweight title in their ten-round fight. Additionally, Andrew Moloney lost to Pedro Guevara in a close decision to win the WBC junior bantamweight title. Moloney instantly contested the outcome and declared he would retire as a result.
“I felt completely in charge. To win tonight, I had to do what I had to do in there,” Moloney declared. “I don’t want to justify myself, but I couldn’t utilize the left hook unless absolutely necessary because I had a torn bicep going into this battle. I was in complete control, so I didn’t feel the urge to toss it.
