A powerful right hand followed by a punishing left to the body moments later was Vasyl Lomachenko’s way of demonstrating his fight IQ was working just fine, ready to solve the challenge before him in typical “Loma” fashion. The two punches scored back-to-back knockdowns of Jose Pedraza in the 11th round on the way to a unanimous decision (119-107, 117-109 and 117-109) before a sold-out crowd of 5,312 fans on December 8. A crowd of boxing fans wearing Ukrainian shirts, proudly waving Ukrainian flags and banners, loudly chanting “Loma” and “Lo-ma-chen-ko” during the 12-round affair.
The win allowed Lomachenko (12-1, 9 KO) to unify two lightweight world titles in the main event of the Top Rank Boxing on ESPN card at the Hulu Theater in Madison Square Garden. He captured Pedraza’s WBO title to go along with his WBA belt.
“It was my dream to unify titles,” Lomachenko said in a post-fight interview. “It was my next goal. I can now focus on my next chapter.”
The Ukrainian showed a disciplined approach to the fight before erupting in the 11th round, leaving no doubt who was the superior fighter. By the end of this round, Lomachenko had inflicted much damage on his overmatched opponent. Few boxers can deliver a 42-power punch barrage with that degree of speed and ferocity, as Lomachenko furthered his case for being the sport’s pound-for-pound best. He also erased all doubts about any health issues following his May surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder.
“I didn’t have a problem. I’m healthy, 100 percent,” Lomachenko said after the bout. “(Pedraza is) a veteran. He did a very good job, and I respect Pedraza and his team.”
Aside from the knockdowns, Lomachenko was quite dominant in throwing and landing punches against a stoic, yet ineffective 29-year-old Pedraza (25-2, 12 KO) of Puerto Rico. According to Compu Box punch statistics, Lomachenko landed 240 of 738 punches (33 percent) to Pedraza’s woeful 111 of 931 (12 percent).
The fight started with a slow pace, both boxers sizing each other up, until Lomachenko connected with a clean left hand, followed by a shot to the body late in the round. Both boxers were busy in round No. 2 with the southpaw Lomachenko connecting with his left, but Pedraza mostly missing every time, out of range and short of his target.
Lomachenko knocked Pedraza off balance with another left in the third round. Pedraza switched to a southpaw stance in the fourth, but Lomachenko adjusted to land a right hook and kept a jab in Pedraza’s face.
The fifth round was Pedraza’s best, as he landed several punches with Lomachenko seemingly taking a break. Loma enjoyed a big eighth round, landing all sorts of punches from many angles, including a flush straight left hand which had Pedraza off balance, frustrated and in retreat mode.
Lomachenko continued to regularly land his straight left hand in the ninth round forcing Pedraza backward. The 10th saw the Puerto Rican land some combinations with one shot earning a nod from Lomachenko, implying he had been caught with a solid punch.
The 11th round was huge for the Ukrainian, who knocked down Pedraza twice and nearly stopped the fight. Lomachenko first hurt him with a left hand and then went on the offensive, landing left upon left, a series of uppercuts hurting Pedraza and sending him reeling.
Pedraza tried to roll with the shots, but Lomachenko put him on the mat with a right hand to the body as Pedraza took a knee. The pounding continued with a big flurry of punches before a left hand to the body dropped him for the second time in the round.
The 12th round had Lomachenko still going after him, but Pedraza showed great heart and made it to the final bell.
Another unification fight may be on the horizon for Lomachenko next year with potential opponents being Miguel Berchelt (35-1, 31 KO) of Mexico or the winner of the vacant lightweight title fight between Richard Commey (27-2, 24 KO) of Ghana and Isa Chaniev (13-1, 6 KO) of Russia. Facing that winner would give Lomachenko a shot to acquire a third lightweight title.
Lomachenko really wants to fight Mikey Garcia (39-0, 30 KO) of the U.S.A., a lightweight titlist who is moving up to welterweight to challenge Errol Spence Jr. (24-0, 21 KO) of the U.S.A. in March 2019. A Loma-Garcia match might be hard to set up because Lomachenko’s Top Rank and Garcia’s Premier Boxing Champions happen to be two promotional outfits with a rather frigid relationship.