Vasiliy Lomachenko TKOs Las Vegas’ Jorge Linares in 10th
Vasiliy Lomachenko at times looks invincible, a master technician who can do no wrong in the ring.
But Lomachenko received a rare boxing lesson Saturday when he hit the canvas for the first time in his career against Jorge Linares.
Linares’ straight right hand that dropped Lomachenko in the sixth round made him look human. The Ukrainian wizard was in uncharted territory. How would he respond?
Lomachenko stuck to the script; he returned to his craft of speed and movement, recording a technical knockout over Linares in the 10th round and becoming the fastest boxer to capture three division titles.
What won Lomachenko (11-1, 9 knockouts) the WBA lightweight title was a perfect left body shot that sent Linares (44-4, 27 KOs) to the mat. Linares, a Summerlin resident, managed to get up but the referee waved it off at the 2:08 mark.
Lomachenko’s left hook to Linares’ liver was reminiscent to the punch Bernard Hopkins landed to defeat Oscar De La Hoya 14 years ago at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. De La Hoya, Linares’ promoter, might have had flashbacks sitting ringside at Madison Square Garden in New York.
At the time of the stoppage, Lomachenko trailed on one scorecard. Judge Steve Weisfeld had Lomachenko leading 86-84, Robin Taylor had Linares 86-84 and Julie Lederman had it 85-85.
Lomachenko, considered by many as the pound-for-pound king, needed 12 professional fights to win world titles at featherweight, junior lightweight and lightweight.
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Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GManzano24 on Twitter.
