Vasyl Lomachenko knocked out George Kambosos to become the new IBF lightweight world champion on Saturday night in Australia.
Lomachenko has often been criticised for starting slow but against Kambosos he got off to a quick start before his 11th-round finish.
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Lomachenko was too much for KambososCredit: ESPN
The Ukrainian let his hands go early with several fast flurries that snapped back Kambosos’ head as he advanced.
Meanwhile, the Aussie looked to push the pace and invest to the body.
At the end of the third, a furious exchange had the crowd on their feet as they closed out a close round in style.
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But by the fourth, Lomachenko looked to have gotten into his rhythm as he darted in and out of range, landing well-timed counters.
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Kambosos’ work rate slowed down significantly in the fifth round as Lomachenko began to make good use of his feints.
At the halfway stage, Kambosos had only landed 10 per cent of his shots while Lomachenko was closing in on a 40 per cent success rate.
Through seven rounds it was hard to make a case for Kambosos winning more than one frame.
Besides the odd clubbing right hand and that exciting exchange in the third, Kambosos was struggling to land anything of note.
Despite the former unified lightweight champion’s corner urging him to do something different, nothing changed.
Lomachenko continued to make Kambosos miss and then make him pay, effortlessly changing angles and punishing his opponent as he lunged in.
As they entered the championship rounds, Kambosos’ face was a bloody mess.
But to his credit, he remained on his feet.
That did last for long though.
In round eleven, a brutal body shot decked Kambosos.
He made his way to his feet but was instantly sent tumbling back down to the canvas by a left uppercut to the gut as the towel came flying into the ring.
Lomachenko is now a four-time world champion across three weight divisions and, at age 36, showed he’s still got it on Saturday night.
Speaking in the immediate aftermath, he said: “Today I am again world champion and this world title for my father.
“I want to say a big thank you and show my appreciation to him.
“He trained me, he built me and he deserves it. This belt is for my father.”
