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Fight Recap: Lomachenko Lays Down The Law, Defeats Kambosos Jr.
At age 36, former pound-for-pound ring king Vasiliy Lomachenko of Ukraine may have lost a step. But this still leaves the two-time Olympic gold medalist and former unified lightweight champion miles ahead of most opponents. Former unified world champion George Kambosos Jr. of Australia found out just how much on Saturday.
Lomachenko (17-3, 11 KOs) delivered his best performance in several fights and first stoppage win since 2021. He thoroughly outclassed Kambosos Jr. (21-2, 10 KOs) with footwork, speed, and ring IQ, scoring an 11th-round TKO to win the vacant IBF lightweight world title at RAC Arena in Perth, Western Australia.
George Kambosos Jr. would never say “no mas” in a fight, but his corner decided he had enough and stopped the fight. Photo: Mikey Williams, Top Rank Boxing
“It looks like knockout, not NoMasChenko,” said Lomachenko. “We trained hard for this moment. Big thank you to my opponent, he is a strong man, he is a true warrior. Big thank you to our God Jesus Christ, to my team. Thank you to Top Rank for giving me this chance to be a champion again. And to all people who support boxing, God bless you.”
Kambosos Jr. said he wanted to finish the fight on his feet, but after two knockdowns, his team thought the better of it and threw in the towel. “This is one of the best fighters in history. I’m not ashamed. I wanted to finish the fight on my feet, I really did. I wanted to finish the rounds. I always do. There’s no shame in losing to a man like Lomachenko,” said Kambosos Jr.
Lomachenko Denies The Judges
Vasiliy Lomachenko’s left hook did much of the damage, including both knockdowns. Photo: Mikey Williams, Top Rank Boxing
Given his narrow decision loss to Devin Haney one year ago, and perhaps giving thought to Jeff Horn’s upset win over Manny Pacquiao in 2017, Lomachenko didn’t let the judges get involved Saturday.
The Ukrainian applied the lessons learned against Haney in his effort against Kambosos Jr. He started early and kept up a torrid pace of punches and pressure.
George Kambosos Jr. said he felt he was doing well in the early rounds. Photo: Mikey Williams, Top Rank Boxing
Kambosos Jr., who barely squeaked out a win over Maxi Hughes last July in Shawnee, Oklahoma, couldn’t figure out how to defuse or defend against Lomachenko’s offense. Lomachenko overwhelmed Kambosos Jr. with too much input to process: footwork, feints, head movement, and forward pressure. The Australian had a brain freeze.
After eight rounds, the accumulated damage showed on Kambosos Jr’s face. Lomachenko’s work opened up a cut on the outside of Kambosos Jr.’s right eye. His corner did good work to keep it under control and give Kambosos Jr. a chance.
The record-setting crowd of 14,147 Australian fans at the RAC Arena was nearly silent during the last rounds of the fight. Kambosos Jr. didn’t give them much to cheer about.
Impressive Punch Output by Lomachenko
CompuBox statistics for Lomachenko vs. Kambosos Jr.
Through ten rounds, Lomachenko had utterly defanged Kambosos Jr. He had landed 157 punches to just 38 for Kambosos Jr. Skills pay the bills. In the fourth and fifth rounds alone, Lomachenko landed 41 punches; Kambosos Jr. landed three.
In the 11th round, with Kambosos Jr. visibly fading, Lomachenko caught him with a left hook. At first glance it looked like a body shot knockdown, but Kambosos Jr. had ducked his head down, catching the hook with his chin. He got up to beat the count. Lomachenko delivered a second left hook, which was a perfect liver shot. As Kambosos Jr. hit the canvas, his corner quickly asked for the fight to be stopped. Uno, dos, adios.
Lomachenko said the fight went exactly according to plan. “My plan was to adjust to my opponent. This is what I did during the fight. At the end of the round, I need to win strong. Last three rounds I was trying to find his body.” And he did.
Kambosos Jr. Issues A Message To Boxing
Kambosos Jr. praised Lomachenko as a true champion. “He’s a legend of the sport. I’ve always respected him. We knew what we were coming up against. But I try my best. I had my best preparation. I did everything in training camp. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough tonight. It is what it is.
“I always step to the best. I’m a model of Arturo Gatti, Micky Ward, all those champions. I step to the best. I fought my best; I take the loss. It is what it is.” Kambosos Jr. issued a final message.
“Fuck the cherry picks. Forget the zero. Fight the best.” Amen.
Lomachenko Wants to Unify Titles
Will Shakur Stevenson be Vasiliy Lomachenko’s next opponent? Photo: Mikey Williams, Top Rank Boxing
Lomachenko has made no secret of his desire to unify the titles and become the undisputed lightweight champion. Standing in his way are Shakur Stevenson, Gervonta Davis, and Emanuel Navarrete if he wins next week in San Diego. Both Stevenson and Navarrete are also Top Rank fighters, making these matchups feasible. Who would Lomachenko prefer to face?
“During my boxing career I never run around. I always take the fights. Right now, I want to come back to my home, my family. I rest a little bit and we can talk about the future.”
Johnson Win Titles From Hughes, But Announcer Mistakes Mars Win
A confused ring announcer left Cherneka Johnson on the wrong side of the scorecards, but there was a mistake. Photo: Mikey Williams, Top Rank Boxing
After WBA world bantamweight champion Nina Hughes of Essex, England, and former world champion and New Zealand native Cherneka Johnson, fighting out of Melbourne, Australia, fought toe to toe for ten rounds in a close battle, fans knew it would be a close call on the scorecards. It seemed Johnson had done enough to beat the champion. CompuBox numbers were on Johnson’s side.
Ring announcer Dan Hennessy announced a 95-95 round, then a 96-94 card and a 98-92 card in the champion’s favor, giving Hughes the split decision and the title.
Cherneka Johnson landed 37 more punches in 10 rounds than Nina Hughes. Photo: Mikey Johnson, Top Rank Boxing
As Hughes raised her arm in celebration, there was a scramble in the ring. Hennessy then brought both fighters back and corrected himself. The two winning cards were in Hughes’ favor. Hughes (8-2, 2 KOs) takes her first loss, while Johnson (15-2, 6 KOs) gets the victory and her first title. The regrettable mistake robbed both women of their moment.
It’s worth seeing to believe it.
The ring announcer declares the wrong winner in Perth then corrects it 😳 pic.twitter.com/ze9Wxt6JaU
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) May 12, 2024
Hughes, age 41, had a long amateur career but missed out on getting on the 2012 London Olympic team. She left boxing, became a mom, and started boxing again to get back in shape. It restarted her career as a pro, and Hughes did well making up for lost time. Johnson is best known for a wild weigh-in stunt in her loss to Elle Scotney. Despite the announcement mess, now she’s know for her effort in the ring.
Moloney Suffers Split Decision Loss to Guevara, Then Retires
After a close fight, Andrew Moloney came up short against Pedro Guevara. Photo: Mikey Williams, Top Rank Boxing
It was a rough week for the Moloney brothers. After Jason Moloney lost his title to Yoshiki Takei by unanimous decision on the Inoue vs. Nery undercard in Japan, his brother Andrew Moloney (26-4, 16 KOs) lost a close split decision to Pedro Guevara of Mexico (42-4-1, 22 KOs). Scores were 115-113 twice for Guevara and 116-112 for Moloney. Guevara wins the vacant WBC interim junior bantamweight champion.
Moloney was attempting a comeback after a devastating loss to Junto Nakantani in 2023, the knockout of the year. He had a win under his belt in a tuneup, but Saturday’s loss was a bit of a setback.
Guevara thanked the fans after his win. “Thank you so much, Australia. You’re good people in a good town,” said Guevara in English. Asked if he would give Moloney a rematch, Guevara said he would. But Moloney made it clear he wasn’t interested.
Pedro Guevara thanked the Australian fans after his victory and said he’d give Andrew Moloney a rematch. Photo: Mikey Williams, Top Rank Boxing
“I felt in total control. I did what I had to do in there tonight just to get through the round to win. I don’t want to make excuses, but I went into this fight with a torn bicep. So I couldn’t throw the left hook unless I needed to. I didn’t feel like I needed to throw it because I was in total control,” said Moloney of his performance.
Moloney Makes Surprise Announcement
He then appeared to slam the door shut. “Look, I want to say thank you to Top Rank and my team for everything you’ve done for me. But I’m done with this sport. Thank you to my sponsors who have backed me over the years. I’m retired from this sport. I love you all, but sorry, fuck that.”
ESPN reporter Bernardo Osuna caught up with a dejected Moloney in his dressing room, and he was still red hot over the outcome. “I should say I’m shocked, but I’ve been here before. It’s corrupt as fucking anything. I thought I won 10 rounds to two. I was in total control.”
Moloney said he had torn his bicep eight days prior to the fight but could still throw a jab and decided to press forward, using his left hook if necessary.
“I thought at max I lost two rounds. I should be walking home with that belt. I’ve given my life to this sport for 20 years. That’s twice they’ve ripped me off for a world title. I’m done with this fucking sport. It’s corrupt. I can’t do anything more than I already am. I’m out,” said Moloney, saying the outcome could only be the product of corruption.
Osuna asked Moloney if he might reconsider. “I don’t know. After surgery on my bicep, we’ll see how long it takes to heal. If they give me an immediate rematch, maybe I’ll look at it. In two rounds, I’ll knock him out.” Let’s hope Moloney reconsidered, Guevara is good to his word, and the pair fight again later this year.
