Vasyl Lomachenko vs. Romulo Koasicha: Winner, Recap and Reaction
As most expected, WBO featherweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko (5-1, 3 KO) outclassed Romulo Koasicha (25-5). The Ukrainian maestro scored a 10th-round KO victory to retain his title Saturday.
Lomachenko's combination of hand speed, footwork, reflexes and boxing acumen is marvelous. Koasicha is not a world-class contender, but he's no tomato can. Lomachenko is simply on another level.
The champion dominated every round in a way that made each frame look like a copy of the previous one. The signature round of the fight took place in the seventh, when Lomachenko began to show off his style as much as he displayed his skill.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
After the round, Los Angeles Times' Lance Pugmire and the Las Vegas Review Journal's Steve Carp admired Lomachenko's work:
In the decisive round, Lomachenko landed a series of body shots that forced Koasicha to take a knee. He would not rise to his feet as referee Robert Byrd counted him out.
In the fight, Lomachenko outlanded Koasicha 334-75 and connected on 47 percent of his punches. The champion also landed 213 power punches at a 64 percent connect rate, per the HBO broadcast.
After such a dominating performance, fans within the boxing community will be pining for a more dangerous opponent for Lomachenko. The obvious choice is former WBA and WBO super bantamweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux, but it has been difficult to get the two former Olympic gold medalists in the ring together.
Aside from Rigondeaux, former WBA super featherweight champion Nicholas Walters is another potential and attractive foe.
A win over either man would vault Lomachenko up the pound-for-pound ladder. Few who have ever seen him fight doubt his skill level, but some people make a valid point about his unproven pro record.
Lomachenko doesn't speak much English—which is often a disconnect for American fight fans—and sometimes he makes fights look so easy that some are left feeling less than entertained. Forever Boxing seems to be in that group:
It's hard to imagine any boxing purist not being impressed or entertained with Lomachenko's performances. Not every fighter is a brawler or a relentless slugger who is consistently in pursuit of a KO. It's a shame that guys such as Lomachenko don't get more respect.
The name of the game is to hit and not get hit. With Floyd Mayweather Jr. supposedly retired, few—if any—active fighters do it better than Lomachenko.
Hopefully, we'll get a chance to see him in the ring with a bigger name soon.
Follow Brian Mazique on Twitter
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
