Vasiliy Lomachenko got back into the win column by becoming the first fighter to stop Masayoshi Nakatani. Blood was drawn early on when a clash of heads in the first round resulted in a cut opening on Lomachenko’s hairline.
Lomachenko was the more accurate fighter, landing 49% (104/214) of his punches over 9 rounds, and 59% (89/152) of his power punches. Lomachenko knocked Nakatani down in the 5th round and continued to batter Nakatani around until the ref had seen enough in the 9th round.
Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, Las Vegas - Three division champion Vasiliy Lomachenko (15-2, 11 KOs) stopped Masayoshi Nakatani (19-2, 13 KOs) in the ninth round.
Lomachenko scored a knockdown in the fifth with a combination of punches. He battered Nakatani with punches during the ninth to drop him again for the stoppage.
For Lomachenko, it was his first bout since losing a twelve round unanimous decision to Teofimo Lopez in their lightweight unification fight last October.
Nakatani was in action back in December, when he knocked out Olympian Felix Verdejo.
