Vasyl Lomachenko has been crowned the new WBC lightweight champion after beating Luke Campbell.
Already his division’s WBO and WBA champion and widely regarded as the best pound-for-pound boxer on the planet, Lomachenko produced another sublime display to topple the resilient 2012 Olympian Campbell and add the vacant WBC title to his collection.
Campbell, a rank outsider heading into the fight, will have earned Lomachenko’s respect with a resolute performance at the O2 Arena in London, catching the champion with an impressive shot that briefly unsteadied Lomachenko in the seventh round.
It was all too brief, however, with the Ukrainian’s stunning footwork and flawless shot selection overwhelming the Briton.
Two shuddering body shots followed by a spiteful jab forced Campbell to take a knee in the eleventh round but the Hull fighter bravely rose and weathered the storm, forcing the fight to go the distance with the Ukrainian securing a clean sweep of the judges’ scorecards.
On the undercard, Hughie Fury came up short against Russian veteran Alexander Povetkin in his first fight since linking up with Matchroom and Eddie Hearn.
Povetkin, whose only professional defeats have come against Wladimir Klitschko and Anthony Joshua, secured an unanimous decision win over the 24-year-old, who impressed at times but ultimately did not have enough power to trouble his opponent.
There was huge controversy before that when Charlie Edwards appeared to lose his WBC flyweight title to Julio Martinez after a third round TKO. The telling body shot that finished him landed after the Croydon fighter was already on the ground, however, with WBC president Mauricio Sulaimán immediately entering the ring and ruling the fight a no contest and ordering a rematch at a later date.
That decision sees Edwards hold onto the belt, although the 26-year-old hinted in his post-fight interview he plans to move up in weight sooner rather than later.
Joshua Buatsi meanwhile extended his professional record to 12-0, securing a KO win over Ryan Ford.
