Vasyl Lomachenko has successfully defended his WBO and WBA lightweight titles with a comprehensive victory over Anthony Crolla.
The Ukrainian, regarded by many as the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet, overwhelmed Crolla, stopping his opponent in the fourth round to take his professional record to 13-1.
The two-time Olympic champion produced a punch perfect performance from the opening bell, tagging Crolla with ease with his flawless footwork ensuring he kept well out of the Mancunian's range.
The champion thought he had the win wrapped up in the third round after a furious flurry of unanswered punches left Crolla reeling.
While he turned away to celebrate, the referee gave Crolla a standing count which he met before seeing out the final seconds of the round.
It only delayed the inevitable however, with Lomachenko picking up from where he left in the fourth, dropping Crolla with a devastating right that forced the stoppage.
Manchester’s Crolla returned to the world title stage for the first time since 2016 where he suffered a rematch defeat to Jorge Linares having lost his WBA title to the Venezuelan the previous year.
Victories over Ricky Burns and Edson Ramirez helped build another title shot with a win over Daud Yordan last November seeing him become the mandatory challenger for Lomachenko’s WBA title.
But the 32-year-old was outclassed by the peerless Lomachenko, who will now have his eye on unifying the lightweight division.
Talks over a meeting with IBF champion Richard Commey were shelved earlier this year when the Ghanaian suffered a hand injury.
