That’s all for tonight. Thanks as always for following along with us and be sure to check out the fight report here.
Updated
What a performance from Lomachenko. The 33-year-old landed 44% of his total punches and 58% of his power punches, according to Compubox’s punch statistics. Commey landed only 12% of his blows and absorbed 36 landed punches in the seventh round alone, the most of his career.
He’s now made his pitch to fight George Kambosos Jr for the unified lightweight title, saying he will go to Australia to do it.
“I will go anywhere I need to go to fight him,” he says.
Vasiliy Lomachenko wins by unanimous decision!
As expected, Lomachenko wins a wide decision by scores of 117-110, 119-108 and 119-108. The partisan crowd of 8,555 in the lower bowl at Madison Square Garden, many waking Ukrainian flags, roar in approach.
Lomachenko didn’t make the statement he was hoping for, but this masterclass performance shows he’s very much in the crowded mix at 135lbs.
Round 12
Lomachenko tries to close in style while Commey is in full survival mode, clinching and wrapping and generally holding on for dear life. This one is headed to the cards and it won’t be controversial.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Lomachenko 10-9 Commey (Lomachenko 119-108 Commey)
Round 11
Another for Loma. The only question remaining is whether he will get the statement-making knockout he’s angling for.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Lomachenko 10-9 Commey (Lomachenko 109-99 Commey)
Round 10
Another easy round for Lomachenko. Commey showing tremendous heart, still throwing with bad intentions and trying to land a punch that will change the fight, but not much else.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Lomachenko 10-9 Commey (Lomachenko 99-90 Commey)
Round 9
After barely surviving the seventh and getting his feet back under him during a relatively quiet eighth, Commey is throwing heavy punches in Lomachenko’s and even landing a few. Serious grit from the Ghanaian. But after that initial burst Lomachenko cruises, almost looking disinterested.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Lomachenko 10-9 Commey (Lomachenko 89-81 Commey)
Round 8
The doctor inspects Commey before the start of the round before allowing the fight to continue. It’s another one-sided round for Lomachenko, but a bit less activity after he threw a ton of punches in the seventh.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Lomachenko 10-9 Commey (Lomachenko 79-72 Commey)
Commey down in round seven!
Round 7
Lomachenko drops Commey with a left hook and the crowd expodes. The Ukrainian twice screams to Commey’s corner to stop the fight. Commey beats the count and the referee allows him to continue. Can’t imagine this goes much longer.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Lomachenko 10-8 Commey (Lomachenko 69-63 Commey)
Round 6
The crowd buzzes in anticipation as Lomachenko traps Commey in a neutral corner and batters away, looking to close the show with a knockout. Commey is throwing back, however, and lands a couple thudding body shots from his defensive posture before escaping to the center of the ring. Commey’s best round since the first but Lomachenko’s sheer offensive output, especially in the first minute, is enough to win the round.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Lomachenko 10-9 Commey (Lomachenko 59-55 Commey)
Round 5
Another masterful round for Lomachenko, who’s beating Commey to the punch as the blows take their toll and the ghanaian’s workrate begins to wane.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Lomachenko 10-9 Commey (Lomachenko 49-46 Commey)
Round 4
Lomachenko continues to heat up, landing crisp combinations to the head and body. Commey is still active but something needs to change or it’s unlikely this one is going the scheduled 12 rounds. Commey jabbing less and Lomachenko’s overhand left finding its purchase with alarming frequency.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Lomachenko 10-9 Commey (Lomachenko 39-37 Commey)
Round 3
The difference in hand speed, footwork and overall ringcraft is starting to show as Lomachenko is really showing his class, cracking Commey with one stiging left hand after another upstairs. Commey is landing shots but Lomachenko is simply throwing more and landing the harder, better shots.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Lomachenko 10-9 Commey (Lomachenko 29-28 Commey)
Round 2
Lomachenko is coming alive in the second, throwing and landing more. Commey catches Lomachenko stationary in the pocket and lands a left uppercut flush but the Ukrainian takes it well. And Lomachenko lands a crisp three-punch combinations in the last 10 seconds that sends Commey reeling backwards into the ropes and ignites the crowd – then gestures to his opponent to go to his corner from the center of the ring before the bell sounds. Nasty stuff.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Lomachenko 10-9 Commey (Lomachenko 19-19 Commey)
Round 1
Chants of “Lo-ma! Lo-ma!” ring through the lower bowl of the Garden as the fighters are given their final instructions. And there’s the bell! Both men spend the first minute circling one another and trading feints with next to no punches thrown in the center of the right. And the second minute. Not much action at all as they measure one another. And it’s Commey who breaks the peace by barelling in and landing a few shots to the body. Lomachenko showing his customary great footwork and landing a couple of scoring blows at the end, but not enough to outscore Commey’s activity.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Lomachenko 9-10 Commey (Lomachenko 9-10 Commey)
The fighters are making their entrances. Commey is making his way to the ring in a white robe with blue and black trim. The song is an unusual one: More Than Gold by the Nigerian gospel artist Judith Kanayo. And now here comes Lomachenko, marching out of the tunnel to the familiar Rob Dougan’s Clubbed to Death (aka The Matrix song). The ring announcer is making the introductions and going through the particulars and we should be under way momentarily!
Updated
Tyson Fury makes a surprise appearance
And wouldn’t you know who’s just turned up: Tyson Fury! Shortly after this video montage played on big screen at the Garden commemorating longtime promoter Bob Arum’s 90th birthday this past Wednesday, the WBC heavyweight champion burst from the tunnel to roars, climbed into the ring and sang three songs for his boss and the crowd: Happy Birthday, then He’s A Jolly Good Fellow, and finally an off-key rendition of Don McLean’s American Pie.
Tyson Fury flew all the way from the UK to sing Bob Arum happy 90th birthday 🎂 @ESPNRingside pic.twitter.com/4ItFAOWy9a
— ESPN (@espn) December 12, 2021
Updated
... and Jared Anderson has just smashed the Oleksandr Teslenko by second-round TKO. The rising American contender, who answered the opening bell in a southpaw stance before switching back to orthodoz, dropped the Ukrainian with a right hand upstairs midway through the second round. Teslenko beat the count but looked shaky and the referee waved it off at the 1:33 mark.
Anderson improves to 11-0 with 11 knockouts and looks ready for a step-up fight sooner than later.
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Preamble
Hello and welcome to New York for tonight’s lightweight fight between Vasiliy Lomachenko and Richard Commey. We’re ringside at Madison Square Garden as Lomachenko, the two-time Olympic gold medalist three-weight champion from Ukraine who for years had been widely regarded as boxing’s pound-for-pound No 1, looks to fight his way back into the lightweight championship picture after last year’s unanimous-decision defeat at the hands of Teófimo López.
López, of course, lost the IBF, WBA and WBO lightweight titles he captured from Lomachenko in a major upset to Australia’s George Kambosos Jr last month. Top Rank supremo Bob Arum, who promotes the 33-year-old Ukrainian star, believes a victory tonight over the hard-hitting Commey will position Lomachenko as a mandatory challenger for Kambosos next year.
Lomachenko (15-2, 11 KOs), who rebounded from the López setback with a ninth-round stoppage of Masayoshi Nakatani in June, said he was happy, healthy and ready to get back in line at Thursday’s final press conference. “I’m very excited because this is the next step of my boxing career,” he said.
Commey (30-3, 27 KOs), a 34-year-old from Ghana who’s also suffered a loss to López, is more than eager to play spoiler and move ahead in a crowded lightweight division that’s been among the sport’s hottest of late.
“Losing is part of boxing, so regardless of how you lose, it’s all about coming back,” Commey said. “So whatever happened with the Teófimo López fight, it is what it is and I took it as a man. I knew I needed to come back and I came back very strong, and that is the reason why Loma chose me, and Saturday we are going to see what happens.”
The final preliminary bout of the night as under way as the fancied American heavyweight prospect Jared Anderson faces Ukrainian Oleksandr Teslenko. (Anderson, who’s knocked out all 10 of his opponents as a professional, was last seen on the Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder III undercard in October.)
That means Lomachenko and Commey should be making their ringwalks by the top of the hour.
Updated
Bryan will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s Donald McRae’s report off the action in Liverpool earlier today.
