Vasyl Lomachenko knocked out George Kambosos to become the new IBF lightweight world champion on Saturday night in Australia.
Lomachenko has often been criticized for his slow start, but against Kambosos he got off to a fast start before finishing in the 11th round.
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The Ukrainian let his hands go early with several quick bursts that snapped Kambosos’ head back as he advanced.
Meanwhile, the Australian looked to pick up the pace and invest in the body.
Late in the third, a furious exchange brought the crowd to their feet as they closed out a close round in style.
But in the fourth, Lomachenko seemed to have hit his stride as he darted in and out of range, landing well-timed counters.
Kambosos’ work rate slowed considerably in the fifth round as Lomachenko began to make good use of his feints.
At the halfway mark, Kambosos had hit just 10 percent of his shots while Lomachenko was closing in on a 40 percent success rate.
Through seven rounds, it was difficult to make a case for Kambosos winning more than one frame.
Besides the strange clubbing right hand and that thrilling exchange in the third, Kambosos struggled to land anything of note.
Although the former unified lightweight champion urged him to do something different, nothing changed.
Lomachenko continued to make Kambosos miss and then make him pay, changing angles effortlessly and punishing his opponent as he rushed forward.
As they entered the championship rounds, Kambosos’ face was a mess.
But to his credit, he remained standing.
But it lasted a long time.
In the eleventh round, a brutal body shot hit Kambosos.
Kambosos got up but was immediately sent falling to the canvas again from the left as the towel flew into the ring.
Lomachenko is now a four-time world champion in three weight classes and, at 36, showed he’s still there on Saturday night.
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