By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Vasiliy Lomachenko is back at the pedestal of the boxing world after stopping George Kambosos Jr. in the 11th round to bag the vacant International Boxing Federation (IBF) world lightweight championship title on May 12, 2024.
After a controversial loss against Devin Haney Jr., Lomachenko made sure to return with a bang and didn’t disappoint his fans who flocked to Australia and witnessed one of his most dominant performances in his professional boxing career.
Lomachenko displayed a flawless outing inside the boxing ring and schooled Kambosos Jr. with his unique combinations backstopped by his stellar ring movement.
From the get-go, Lomachenko immediately dictated the pace of the fight as he quickly cut through Kambosos Jr.’s distance with his efficient short-stab jabs.
Every time his jabs connected, Lomachenko followed it up with two punches to the body and a sneaky right uppercut that helped him pile up his lead in the judges’ scorecards.
Kambosos Jr. found some momentum when the fifth round began when he was able to hit his right hooks cleanly which disrupted Lomachenko’s pressure attack.
However, it didn’t take long for Lomachenko to adjust and easily countered Kambosos Jr.’s long- shot aggression with his head movement and lightning-quick in-and-out foot patterns.
Lomachenko turned on the jets in the 10th round and cornered Kambosos Jr. twice, inflicting more damage after hitting him with a barrage of jabs in the back-to-back sequences.
It all ended in the 11th round when Lomachenko scored a brutal knockdown courtesy of a devastating left hook body shot with only 31 seconds remaining.
Kambosos Jr. beat the initial 10 counts of the match referee but Lomachenko wrapped up his technical knockout victory with a flurry of body punches that forced the official to end the match in the 12th second of the 11th.
With the win, Lomachenko improved his professional boxing record to 18 wins, 12 knockouts, and three losses while Kambosos Jr. dropped to 21 wins, 10 knockouts, and three defeats.
