Robert Guerrero’s gutsy 12-round win over Yoshihiro Kamegai in their June 21 welterweight bout headlined what turned out to be an unbelievable night of action at the StubHub Center in Carson, California. The bout aired live on SHOWTIME as the closing leg of a televised tripleheader, with the overall broadcast producing an average of 533,000 viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.
This past Saturday night at the StubHub Center in Carson, two-time Olympic gold medal winner Vasyl Lomachenko (2-1, 1KOs) officially became a major player in the featherweight division, and certainly a name on the rise, with a statement making twelve round majority decision over previously undefeated Gary Russell Jr. (24-1, 14KOs) to capture the vacant WBO featherweight title. Top Rank's VP of Boxing Operations, Carl Moretti, and one of Top Rank's head matchmakers, Brad Goodman, expect Lomachenko to be dominant force in the featherweight division.
It looked like the speed of Gary Russell might be a problem for Vasyl Lomachenko. That look lasted about ninety seconds. That’s about how soon into the first round one could begin to see the former two-time Olympic Gold Medalist time the quicker man. In one of the better coin flip matches in some time, no one could be certain of what they were getting. As noted in the pre-fight report card, one guy hadn’t fought anybody and the other had only two fights.
Vasyl Lomachenko doubled up Gary Russell Jr. in total and power punches landed. Lomachenko put on a dazzling boxing display, as Russell missed nine of every ten punches he threw. Lomachenko landed 53% of his power shots over the last three rounds.
by David P. Greisman - It wasn’t the main event of the evening. The combined pay of the two boxers involved was just about the same amount owed to one of the fighters in the main event. Yet it was the bout that knowledgeable fans were excited about. It was the most important match on the card, and that is because it was the most intriguing one. In one corner was Gary Russell Jr., the 26-year-old American who was an accomplished amateur who represented the United States in the 2008 Olympics but who never actually competed at that year’s tournament, passing out in his room before his first bout. The boxer was a free agent who had a working relationship with Golden Boy Promotions, turned pro more than five years ago, and had been brought along at a maddeningly slow pace. In the other corner was Vasyl Lomachenko, the 26-year-old Ukrainian who captured Olympic gold in 2008 and 2012, just part of an amazing amateur career in which he lost only once. He worked now with Top Rank Inc., had competed in the semi-pro World Series of Boxing in 2012 and 2013, officially turned pro last year and had challenged for a world title in what could either be considered his second pro fight or his eighth. The differences in amateur accomplishments and professional upbringings alone made this an interesting pairing. What made it additionally compelling was that this was a fight that normally wouldn’t have happened, yet was made.
StubHub Center, Carson, California - Two-time Olympic gold medal winner Vasyl Lomachenko (2-1, 1KO) won a twelve round majority decision over previously undefeated Gary Russell Jr. (24-1, 14KOs) to capture the vacant WBO featherweight championship. The scores were 114-114, 116-112, 116-112.
StubHub Center, Carson, California - Two-time Olympic gold medal winner Vasyl Lomachenko (2-1, 1KO) won a twelve round majority decision over previously undefeated Gary Russell Jr. (24-1, 14KOs) to capture the vacant WBO featherweight championship. The scores were 114-114, 116-112, 116-112. It was a chess match in the first four rounds, but Lomanchenko exploded with punches to the head and body in the fifth. Russell came back to put in the better work during the sixth. Russell was controlling the seventh until Lomachenko fired off big combination in to get him in trouble during the final minute, and then Lomachenko worked him over with wicked shots to the head and body.
On Saturday night at the StubHub Center in Carson, California - Vasyl Lomachenko (2-1, 1KO) captured the vacant WBO featherweight crown with twelve round majority decision over previously undefeated Gary Russell Jr. (24-1, 14KOs). After the fight was over, the post-fight celebrations by Team Lomachenko were hit with a black cloud when ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr. announced that all three judges had rendered a majority decision. When the score of 114-114 was announced first, there was some nervous energy in the ring for Lomachenko and his camp members.
CARSON, Calif. - In a collision of two highly-skilled, exciting southpaw featherweights in the co-feature on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING, international amateur standout Vasyl Lomachenko (2-1, 1 KO), of Ukraine, won a hard-fought 12-round majority decision over previously undefeated yet untested Gary Russell Jr. (24-1, 14 KOs), of Capitol Heights, Md., to capture the vacant WBO world 126-pound crown. There were no knockdowns in the epic showdown between Lomachenko and Russell for the vacant WBO title that Lomachenko won by the scores of 116-112 twice and 114-114. Lomachenko, 396-1 as an amateur, was a two-time Olympic Games gold medalist (2008, 2012) who fought and lost for a world title in his pro debut.
Luis Sandoval catches up with two-time Olympic gold medal winner Vasyl Lomachenko to discuss his twelve round decision victory over previously undefeated Gary Russell Jr., which took place at the StubHub Center in Carson, California. With the victory Lomachenko captured the vacant WBO featherweight championship in only his third pro fight.