Vasyl Lomachenko defeats Pedraza in New York
On paper, this match-up was pretty clear-cut. While Jose Pedraza did very well against Ray Beltran, we have seen him obliterated by Gervonta Davis at junior lightweight.
The only positive in Pedraza’s favor was his style. Lomaachenko had fought Samuel Maxwell in the World Series of Boxing tournament who had a similar base style as Pedraza. However, this would be the first slick fighter he has faced at the world championship level.
It really didn’t matter by the end of the night. Once again, Loma’s pressure, volume and ability to give angles and keep his opponents inside a triangle was too much.
Pedraza had his moments landing counter right hands, however, his lack of volume and ability to pivot with Lomachenko would had his fate sealed from the beginning.
The fight was almost over in round eleven when the volume took over. Lomachenko would land 42 power shots; several of which were unanswered in route to knocking his opponent down twice. The only reason Pedraza saw a twelfth round is because only five seconds remained in after recovering from the second knockdown.
The Puerto Rican would go on to survive the final round in a losing effort. He did, however, break Lomachenko’s streak of eight straight knockout wins.
All three judges had the Ukrainian sensation winning handily. Although he has captured titles in three divisions, this would be the first time he became a unified champion.
When asked about his plans for future, he stated:
“Of course I want two more belts then maybe next year we can make Mikey Garcia.”
By: EJ Williams
