Vasiliy Lomachenko Outclasses Luke Campbell, Adds WBC Lightweight Title

By Matt Benoliel

In his post-fight interview, Vasiliy Lomachenko remained humble. He spoke about the difficulty in adjusting to the longer reach of his opponent, and he lamented that it was not his best performance. He said he had a hard time figuring his way around Campbell’s jab, although he seemed to have no problem realizing that a taller opponent also has a longer torso willing to provide a nice target for his inside work. 

Luke Campbell remained competitive throughout the fight, landing shots to the body and perhaps doling out more punishment than Lomachenko is used to. This was a real championship fight, as exciting as any other in recent times. Round five was epic, with both fighters giving and taking. The knockdown in round eleven, and Campbell’s final rally in the twelfth which included a low blow and a single-leg takedown with a “whatever it takes” mentality to somehow come through with what would have been a well-needed triumph for the British fans, all added up to a thrilling evening for boxing fans and another strap for Loma.

On the scorecards, two judges saw the fight 11-1, and the other 10-2. At ringside, Andre Ward’s scorecard was a lot closer.  But in the end, the man widely considered the pound for pound best in the world, decisively conquered a fellow Olympian with a considerable height and reach advantage in front of that man’s hometown crowd.

A closer look at the stats reveal just why Loma won so decisively. According to Compubox, Lomachenko threw more punches, landed a higher percentage of those punches, and in one round landed an impressive 61.4% percent of his power punches.