Promoter Bob Arum was impressed with the performance of his fighter Vasily Lomachenko on Saturday night after watching him destroy former unified lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr. (21-3, 10 KOs) by an eleventh-round knockout to claim the vacant IBF 135-lb title at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.
Lomachenko dropped Kambosos twice with body shots in round eleven to get the knockout. Kambosos’ corner threw in the towel to have the fight halted. The stoppage occurred at 2:49 of round eleven.
Arum Eyes Shakur Stevenson Unification Bout
After the fight, the Top Rank boss, Arum said he’d like to match newly crowned IBF champion Lomachenko (18-3, 12 KOs) against WBC champ Shakur Stevenson next in a unification.
Arum is trying to get Stevenson to extend his contract with Top Rank, which expires after his next fight on July 6th. That would work out well for Arum if Lomachenko agreed to fight Shakur because it would help him get Shakur to extend his contract, but it wouldn’t do much for Loma.
That’s a lackluster fight for Lomachenko, which would likely involve a lot of movement on Shakur’s part. Boxing fans on social media view Shakur as a ‘Runner’, and that’s a fitting label.
Lomachenko Has More Appealing Options
Lomachenko has better options for his next fight. WBA ‘regular’ lightweight champion Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis says he wants to fight him next after he defends against Frank Martin on June 15th. There’s also Emanuel Navarrete, who would be a better option for Lomachenko to fight than Shakur.
“It was great. It was almost like a vintage performance,” said promoter Bob Arum to Fighthype when asked for his reaction to Vasily Lomachenko’s eleventh-round knockout win of George Kambosos Jr. on Saturday night.
“He was slowing up in his last couple of fights, but tonight, he became a young man again,” said Arum about Lomachenko. “Maybe in December. Maybe against Shakur Stevenson. We’ll see,” said Arum when asked about when he wants to see Lomachenko back.
Potential for a Lomachenko vs. Tank Davis Showdown
“100%. It was a vintage great performance, and unfortunately for George, he was up against a Lomachenko, who was at his top floor.
“Yeah, why not? But let’s savor the moment tonight and then we’ll figure out the next step tomorrow,” said Arum on whether he’d like to see Lomachenko fight Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis after he fights Shakur next.
Read the full article here
