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Loma Dominates Commey Over 12
Photos: Mikey Williams - Top Rank
Vasiliy Lomachenko doesn't have his lightweight titles
anymore, but he just may be the division's most
dangerous man. Lomachenko, the former three-weight world
champion, brutalized former lightweight champion Richard
"RC" Commey, winning a wide unanimous decision over the
Ghanaian in front of 8,555 fans Saturday night at
Madison Square Garden.
The scores — 119-108 2x and 117-110 — were academic
after 12 rounds were complete.
Lomachenko knocked Commey down with a left hand coming
off a clinch in the seventh round. Lomachenko then waved
on Commey's corner to stop the fight, but they did not
oblige. Commey somehow survived as Lomachenko landed
serious leather to the head and body.
"I saw his situation. It was very hard for him,"
Lomachenko said. "That’s why I said, ‘Hey, stop the
fight.’ He is a true warrior. He has a big heart and we
continue and we show {the} people 12 great rounds."
Commey said, "I took my eye off him for a second and
them boom! I just took my eyes off him and then that’s
it. It is what it is. He’s a great fighter. I did what I
had to do. I’m good. I’m not hurt. Nothing happened to
me."
Lomachenko (16-2, 11 KOs) has now won two fights at
lightweight since losing his belts to Teofimo Lopez in
October 2020. He hopes to become undisputed lightweight
champion, a crown currently held by Australia's George
Kambosos Jr.
Lomachenko said, "I said before I don’t like talking
about myself. We have in this weight division, we have a
lot of great fighters. We have a lot of top fighters. So
we can organize a lot of great fights in the future."
Jared "The Real Big Baby" Anderson (11-0, 11 KOs) did
not nothing to dispel the notion that he's the next
great American heavyweight. Anderson knocked out
Ukrainian puncher Oleksandr Teslenko (17-2, 13 KOs) in
the second round, his third consecutive second-round
stoppage.
Anderson ended the evening with a right cross-left hook
combination that had Teslenko falling face first.
Anderson said, "We came in and wanted to confuse him, so
we came out southpaw. I think we did just that. We
switched back in the next round, and he didn't know what
was coming, and he ended up on the mat."
Keyshawn Davis (4-0, 3 KOs), fresh off his silver medal
at the Tokyo Olympics, put forth a golden performance.
Davis knocked out Mexican bruiser Jose Zaragoza (8-4-1,
2 KOs) in the second round of scheduled six-round
lightweight fight.
The second and final knockdown, a left hand to the body,
spelled the end for Zaragoza.
Nico Ali Walsh, in the building where his grandfather
made so many indelible memories, made one of his own.
Ali Walsh (3-0, 2 KOs) bested Reyes Sanchez (6-1, 2 KOs)
by majority decision (38-38, 39-37 and 40-36) in a
four-round middleweight fight. Ali Walsh dominated the
first half of the fight, but it was Sanchez who pressed
forward in the third and fourth rounds. After two
knockouts to start his career, Ali Walsh received a gut
check.
Ali Walsh said, “I learned a ton tonight. Obviously, I
fought against a well-matched opponent. He was 6-0.
“He saw my right hand. Obviously, I saw his as well. He
was a very skilled opponent. A lot of guys with three
fights don’t fight someone like him. But because my
career has been fast tracked due to my name and
grandfather, I’m fighting these types of opponents like
Reyes Sanchez.
In undercard action:
The 2021 Prospect of the Year competition may be a
one-horse race. Puerto Rican superstar Xander Zayas
(12-0, 9 KOs) picked up his sixth win of the year,
knocking out Italian hopeful Alessio Mastronunzio (9-2,
3 KOs) in the opening round. Zayas knocked down his
overmatched foe in the opening 10 seconds, then stepped
on the gas until referee Danny Schiavone stopped the
fight at 2:52.
“I told you I came here to make a statement. That’s what
I did," Zayas said. “I’m Prospect of the Year. I hope I
let everyone know who is the prospect of 2021.”
New York City welterweight Pablo "Pretty Boy" Valdez
(6-0, 5 KOs), who counts Edgar Berlanga among his
stablemates, knocked out Dominican veteran Julio Cesar
Sanchez (11-4, 6 KOs) in the fourth round.
Junior welterweight John "El Terrible" Bauza (16-0, 7
KOs) may be the Puerto Rico's next big prospect. Bauza
obliterated the previously undefeated Michael Williams
Jr. (19-1, 12 KOs), scoring five knockdowns en route to
the fourth-round knockout victory. Bauza added three
knockdowns in the fourth round, the final one laying
Williams out against the ropes.
Staten Island’s James “Crunch Time” Wilkins (10-2, 6
KOs) notched a razor-thin unanimous decision over the
upset-minded Juan Tapia (10-4, 3 KOs) in an eight-round
junior lightweight fight. Wilkins, who knocked down
Tapia in the fourth, had to withstand a late rally in
the final two rounds to clinch the win by scores of
77-75, 77-74 and 76-75.
In a welterweight contest, the oldest of the fighting
Davis Brothers, Kelvin Davis (3-0, 2 KOs) knocked out
Ryan Schwartzberg (1-4-1, 1 KOs) after Schwartzberg's
corner stopped the fight following the second round.
Davis tallied a knockdown in the second round with a
left hand.
2016 Irish Olympian "Mighty" Joe Ward (6-1, 3 KOs)
needed only 1:35 to knock out Mississippi native Britton
Norwood (10-4-1, 7 KOs) in a light heavyweight contest
that opened the show. Ward started the carnage with a
body shot that nearly doubled over Norwood. Following a
knockdown, Ward attacked and referee Charlie Fitch
stepped in.
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