Ukrainian lightweight Vasyl Lomachenko returned to boxing with a narrow unanimous decision victory over American Jamaine Ortiz in the main event of the tournament held this Saturday at the Hulu Theatre, located in New York’s Madison Square Garden.
The judges for the fight voted 115-113, 116-112 and 117-111 in favor of Lomachenko, who is now the first in line to challenge undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney (29-0-0, 15 KOs).
This was the first appearance of the former No1. Pound for pound after Russia invaded Ukraine, he decided to stay with his family and join a local defense battalion in his country.
Ortiz (16-1-1, 8 KOs), who was coming off a heavy loss, was in control in the first half of the 135-pound fight thanks to his athleticism, superior size and striking.
As the rounds went by and Lomachenko shed more than 11 months of rust, the balance tipped in his favor, finishing strong in the championship rounds.
Loma had a slight advantage in shots allowed, boosted by a 2-1 advantage in shots allowed. Loma landed 31% of his hard shots after landing 48% in his previous 18 fights. #LomaOrtiz pic.twitter.com/WBRiAGX2uG
— CompuBox (@CompuBox) October 30, 2022
Robeisy Ramírez knocks out and keeps the promotion at 126 pounds
Cuban two-time Olympic champion Robeisy Ramírez continues his streak after defeating José Matías Romero by TKO in the ninth round in the main event.
‘El Tren’ Ramirez dropped Romero with a left hand in the first round and finished the Argentinian with a pair of left hands that caused the referee to stop the fight 40 seconds into the ninth round.
Ramirez (11-1, 7 KOs) was set for a big fight against Jessie Magdaleno, but the former champion pulled out with a hand injury. Instead, Ramirez made a statement by finishing Romero (26-3, 9 KOs), who went the distance with Isaac Cruz and Michel Rivera last year.
Ramirez, 28, is already in prime position to knock on the door of any of the featherweight (126-pound) champions from any of the four organizations.
“I’m ready to fight for the world title,” commented the Olympic monarch from London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2016 in a post-fight interview.
one-way traffic for Ramirez, who threw out Romero early and eventually got the layup. Ramirez landed 47% of his hard punches, while Romero averaged just 29 punches per round. @trboxing pic.twitter.com/tasu5scikh
— CompuBox (@CompuBox) October 30, 2022
Nico Ali Walsh gets tangled up, but enough for the win
Muhammad Ali’s grandson, Nico Ali Walsh, continued his development with a unanimous decision over Billy Wagner in a six-round middleweight bout.
But Walsh went the distance for the second time in his career with a 58-56, 58-56 and 59-55 victory.
But Walsh (7-0, 5 KOs) landed a series of heavy punches, particularly a right hand, that left Wagner’s face bloody throughout. However, he also absorbed a package of powerful blows in return during the fight.
At 22 and fighting out of Las Vegas, Ali finishes his 2022 campaign with four wins. Wagner (5-3, 1 KO), a 29-year-old fighter from Montana, lost for the second time in his last four fights.