Vasyl Lomachenko easily retained his WBO junior lightweight title, with a dominating boxing display over Jason Sosa, whose corner pulled the plug at the end of the ninth round.
In the fifth round, Lomachenko mocked Sosa by pretending to hold out a cape as if he was a matador toying with an angry bull in the ring. Sosa’s trainer stopped the fight after the ninth round, first removing his boxer’s mouthpiece in the corner then motioning to the referee.
Sosa was not supposed to be in this fight, coming in as a 25-1 underdog, and it showed. He was a willing participant but was Lomachenko’s third choice after the others declined. But he did manage to bait Sosa into this one and no amount of banderillas or mounted picadors could save Sosa from the inevitable.
Lomachenko’s inability to get anyone to fight him in the 130-pound division has him seriously considering moving up in class to 135.
Lomachenko turned pro after a superb amateur career that saw him record 396 wins and just one loss. He won back-to-back Olympic gold medals (in different weight classes) for Ukraine in 2008 and 2012, as well as a pair of amateur world titles.
A brilliant boxer who is above average in every category including power, speed, defence, technique, ring intelligence, the quick start to his pro career has been historic. (AFP)
