Loma the great
Ukrainian star seeks fourth world title, as Edwards keeps his thanks to ‘VAR’
ON THe Saturday night VAr came to boxing, it looked as old- fashioned as black and white television compared with the hi-tech genius of the greatest pound-for-pound boxer in the universe.
Vasyl Lomachenko lit up the O2 Arena with the rainbow colours of his kaleidoscopic skills as he danced rings around the endlessly heroic Luke campbell to extend his unification of the world lightweight championship to three of the four major belts.
‘Luke will come again,’ said his promoter eddie Hearn. ‘But not against Lomachenko.’ even the ring’s hype-masters know when it is time to draw the line.
earlier in the evening an off-thecuff version of the TV review system which has polarised football opinion enabled charlie edwards to keep his world flyweight title after being counted out in the third round. The big screens showed that edwards had been hooked to the ribs when he had one knee on the canvas. Hearn led the protests as the arm of ferocious mexican Julio martinez was raised in victory.
WBc president mauricio Sulaiman saw the replay and declared a no-contest, honourably but in contravention of British Boxing Board of control regulations which forbid referees being over-ruled by television.
Lucky young charlie. Not so fortunate cool Hand Luke. Not even the finest performance of his life was enough to spare campbell from being put to the rapier by Lomachenko.
The speed of hand and foot, the geometry of the angles created by that lightning movement and the intelligence brought to bear with the precision of his punches all lived up to the reputation which preceded Lomachenko.
Not for many a year has an overseas fighter entered a British ring to such an ovation. rarely has one departed to such unstinting acclamation. That speaks volumes for the British fans and Loma the Great returned the compliment, thanking them for their appreciation of his ring-craft.
campbell is left seeking an alternative route to the world title which has eluded him since he won his Olympic gold at the London Games.
After falling short against Jorge Linares and now producing ‘the very best i can do’ only to be decked as well as bedazzled in this Ukrainian masterclass, Hearn has to choose that path with care for a 31-year-old who knows now in his fighting heart he can no longer believe himself the best in his division, nor at lightwelterweight if he moves up, to the further detriment of his questionable punching power. For all his skilful efforts, campbell aroused only one frisson of excitement, when he connected with a left in the seventh.
Loma appeared to wobble but dismissed it as being caught off balance: ‘Luke can punch hard but although he hit me in that moment he didn’t hurt me.’
Lomachenko, twice an Olympic champion, likened this to ‘a technical amateur fight’, adding: ‘it was difficult for me because of Luke’s size and his own ring iQ so i am pleased with the outcome.’
The future of this man who has won three titles in different weight divisions in record time is mapped out.
‘make some more history,’ by adding the iBF title to the WBc, WBA and WBO belts already in his possession. ‘Then go back down to super-featherweight to mop up the rest of the titles there.’
much as he would like to fight in Britain again, that business will have to be taken care of in America, or be taken on a world tour which his promoter Bob Arum believes would help him ‘join muhammad Ali among the all-time superstars’.
campbell is probably the biggest opponent Lomachenko will ever face, yet it took him only two rounds to work him out.
From then on he worked over his challenger from Hull, finishing up by flooring him in the 11th and almost stopping him three times in the remaining minutes.
All credit to campbell for making a fight of it at times, reaching the championship rounds, which few expected him to do, then hanging on to the final bell.
That made the official unanimous scoring against him — two cards of 119-108 and one of 118109 — a mite ungenerous. my reckoning was 117-111.
Against this man, that was an achievement, albeit one put into further perspective when Lomachenko was asked to grade his own performance and said: ‘Seven out of 10.’ As he departed the scene of his latest triumph, he said: ‘Now i can go home to do some hunting and fishing.’
The wildlife in Ukraine have been warned.