Vasiliy Lomachenko outclasses Luke Campbell for the vacant WBC title!
Arguably the #1 pound-for-pound fighter Vasiliy Lomachenko is two belts away from achieving his goal of becoming the first undisputed lightweight champion since the late, great Pernell Whitaker did it in 1990!
Luke Campbell is a former 2012 Olympic gold medalist who in his sixth year as a professional, is trying to become a world champion.
Keep Him Guessing
Early on, Campbell made it apparent he would not stop moving laterally while throwing punches in an attempt to throw off the rhythm of the unified champion and it worked!
Lomachenko is known for obliterating a stagnant fighter since it allows him to move effectively all around his opponent. Campbell would use all of his two inch height and six inch reach advantages. There was literally no breaks taken in the amount of volume the challenger would administer.
Each time Lomachenko tried to pounce in, the British contender would have a left hook or an uppercut waiting for him. If the champion tried to utilize his movement as a way to instill confusion, Campbell would employ patience and wait for the movement to cease before continuing to jab and move.
Finding the Hole
Lomachenko typically figures out a plan to exploit the weaknesses of his opponents by the fourth or fifth round (if not sooner) and this fight followed suit. The pace that Campbell would need to keep was blistering and would eventually cause him to fade and/or make some critical mistakes.
Meanwhile, Lomachenko would continue to apply effective aggression, keeping his opponent on his proverbial bicycle. By the fourth round, the champion started to get closer and attack the body of the challenger while being pinned against the ropes.
Towards the end of the fifth, Campbell would make a terrible mistake by stepping into his jab and runs into a counter left had that staggers him against the ropes.
Lomachenko would go in for the kill landing some devastating body shots that may have put his opponent down if the clock didn’t show only 0:03 remaining!
Undeterred, Campbell would rally back in the seventh round still managing to keep up the pace but it was clear he was starting to get broken down to the body.
The Championship Rounds
In round eleven, the champion would land another counter, this time to the body that would start a volley of shots eventually putting the challenger down. This was reminiscent of Lomachenko’s fight against Jose Pedraza the way he wore him down in the same round to score the knockdown.
It appeared the champion may get the stoppage, however, he took his foot off the gas due to fatigue while Campbell did what he could to stay away.
In the final round, everyone watching waited to see if the Ukrainian great would get the knockout. He stalked and chased his prey but Campbell would not have it. It appeared the challenger wanted to stay afloat as a victory was pretty much already out of the question
This was a great fight, however, it was clear by the middle rounds that Lomachenko was in another class.
In the end, the judges scored the fight 119-108 twice and 118-109 all for the champion.
3kingsboxing.com scored the fight 116-111 for Lomachenko.
Now fans will be keeping a very close eye on the winner of IBF champion Richard Commey vs mandatory and lightweight sensation Teofimo Lopez slated to take place December 14.
The winner of that bout is expected to take on Lomachenko for the next undisputed lightweight champion!
By: EJ Williams
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