Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. Richard Commey
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| Date | December 11, 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Title(s) on the line | vacant WBO Inter-Continental lightweight title | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lomachenko wins via 12-round unanimous decision (117-110, 119-108, 119-108) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. Richard Commey, billed as Some Forces Can't Be Contained was a lightweight professional boxing match contested between former 3-division champion, Vasiliy Lomachenko, and former IBF lightweight champion, Richard Commey on December 11, 2021, at Madison Square Garden, in New York City, New York, U.S.[1]
Background
[edit]Both Lomachenko and Commey share a common loss with former unified lightweight champion, Teófimo López. Commey was knocked out by López in round two in their bout in 2019, losing the IBF lightweight title.[2] Lomachenko lost his unified lightweight titles in an upset in 2020, losing by unanimous decision.[3]
Lomachenko bounced back from his defeat to López, knocking out lightweight contender Masayoshi Nakatani in June 2021,[4] and called López out for a rematch, claiming he "still wanted to become the undisputed champion" at lightweight.[5]
Commey also bounced back from his defeat to López, knocking out Jackson Maríñez in round six in February 2021.[6]
With both fighters looking for another shot at a world title, the pair agreed to face each other on December 11 in New York. The bout was aired live on ESPN in the US, and on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland.
The fight
[edit]Lomachenko won the bout by dominating a competent but unable-to-overcome Commey. Lomachenko was deemed winner by unanimous decision, all three fight judges giving him the contest by a considerable number of points.
Aftermath
[edit]After the bout when asked about fighting newly crowned unified lightweight champion, George Kambosos Jr., who had upset Teofimo Lopez a few weeks previously, Lomachenko jumped at the idea, stating that he 'needs this chance' and would be willing to fly to Australia if necessary.[7] However, on 24 February 2022 Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine and Lomachenko returned to his home country to aid in the war effort. On 20 March, Lomachenko was given permission to leave Ukraine in order to face George Kambosos Jr. in Australia. However, he declined, opting to stay and fight for his country.[8] Kambosos Jr. instead lost his titles to WBC champion Devin Haney, who thereby became the undisputed lightweight champion.[9]
Undercard
[edit]Confirmed bouts:[10]
Broadcasting
[edit]| Country | Broadcaster |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom |
Sky Sports[11] |
 United States |
ESPN |
References
[edit]- ^ "Vasyl Lomachenko vs. Richard Commey". boxrec.com. BoxRec. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
- ^ "Teofimo Lopez Jr. demolishes Richard Commey in Round 2; Vasiliy Lomachenko next?". ESPN.com. 2019-12-15. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
- ^ Loop, Nate. "Teofimo Lopez Jr. Beats Vasiliy Lomachenko Via Decision in Lightweight Fight". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
- ^ "Loma TKOs Nakatani, tells Lopez 'I am waiting'". ESPN.com. 2021-06-27. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
- ^ "Vasyl Lomachenko wants rematch with Teofimo Lopez following win over Masayoshi Nakatani". GiveMeSport. 2021-06-28. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
- ^ "Richard Commey demolishes Jackson Marinez, gets back into title contention". ESPN.com. 2021-02-14. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
- ^ "Vasiliy Lomachenko dazzles in dominating unanimous decision win over Richard Commey | DAZN News US". DAZN. 12 December 2021. Retrieved 2021-12-12.
- ^ Treisman, Rachel (22 March 2022). "A top Ukrainian boxer is choosing his country over an upcoming title fight". NPR. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
- ^ "Devin Haney ends George Kambosos' reign with unanimous decision in Melbourne". ABC News. 2022-06-05. Retrieved 2022-10-31.
- ^ "BoxRec - event".
- ^ "Vasiliy Lomachenko to fight Richard Commey on December 11 at Madison Square Garden, live on Sky Sports". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2021-12-08.