By Chris Williams: Vasyl Lomachenko (11-1, 9 KOs) survived a 6th round knockdown to come back to stop WBA World lightweight champion Jorge Linares (44-4, 27 KOs) in the 10th round to become a three-division world champion at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Lomachenko wore the 32-year-old Linares down with his rapid-fire shots through the first 9 rounds, and then put him away in the 10th with a body shot. Linares was too hurt to continue fighting and then referee Ricky Gonzalez stopped the fight.
The official time of the stoppage was at 2:08 of round 10.
Boxing News 24 had Linares winning rounds 1, 2, 6 and 9. It was odd to see Lomachenko losing rounds, but he was facing a very good boxer with a size and punching power advantage over him. Even the speed was on Linares’ side. What Lomachenko was doing was moving a lot, throwing short punches in combination, and using his short size to his advantage.
Against a taller fighter with huge power, speed and accuracy like Mikey Garcia, Lomachenko is going to have to deal with having his chin checked repeatedly. I don’t know if Top Rank boss Bob Arum wants that fight right now. Mikey could end Arum’s dream of turning Lomachenko into a star. With Mikey’s power all it takes it one big shot and it’s the end of the road for his opponents.
The size difference between the two fighters was a problem for the smaller Lomachenko, who looked considerably short and lighter than Linares. While it may not have been enough for Lomachenko to lose to Linares, it could be a problem for him when he meets up with WBC lightweight champion Mikey Garcia. And if Lomachenko decides to move up to 140 to camp in that weight class, he’s going to have a ton of problems if he ever faces the likes of Regis Prograis, Kiryl Relikh, Sergey Lipinets or Jose Ramirez.
I don’t know that Lomachenko will go beyond the lightweight division though, aside from moving to 140 for a catch-weight money fight against Manny Pacquiao. That’s likely going to be the extent of Lomachenko fighting at light welterweight. His promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank will likely try and pull Pacquiao down in weight, and whoever else at 147 that is willing to drain themselves to fight Lomachenko at 140.
Linares failed to connect with enough combinations in the fight, and he wasn’t moving his head nearly enough. Linares’ accuracy was not there. He needed to focus on throwing more body shots.
What we saw here tonight is Lomachenko being too quick on his feet for Linares. A prime Floyd Mayweather Jr. would have dominated Lomachenko back when he was still fighting at lightweight and super featherweight. A young Mayweather would have been way too much for Lomachenko tonight.