Vasiliy Lomachenko doesn’t have his lightweight titles anymore, but he just may be the division’s most dangerous man. Lomachenko, the former three-weight world champion, brutalized former lightweight champion Richard “RC” Commey, winning a wide unanimous decision over the Ghanaian in front of 8,555 fans Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.

The scores — 119-108 2x and 117-110 — were academic after 12 rounds were complete.

Lomachenko knocked Commey down with a left hand coming off a clinch in the seventh round. Lomachenko then waved on Commey’s corner to stop the fight, but they did not oblige. Commey somehow survived as Lomachenko landed serious leather to the head and body.

“I saw his situation. It was very hard for him,” Lomachenko said. “That’s why I said, ‘Hey, stop the fight.’ He is a true warrior. He has a big heart and we continue and we show {the} people 12 great rounds.”

Commey said, “I took my eye off him for a second and them boom! I just took my eyes off him and then that’s it. It is what it is. He’s a great fighter. I did what I had to do. I’m good. I’m not hurt. Nothing happened to me.”

Lomachenko (16-2, 11 KOs) has now won two fights at lightweight since losing his belts to Teofimo Lopez in October 2020. He hopes to become undisputed lightweight champion, a crown currently held by Australia’s George Kambosos Jr.

Lomachenko said, “I said before I don’t like talking about myself. We have in this weight division, we have a lot of great fighters. We have a lot of top fighters. So we can organize a lot of great fights in the future.”

PHOTOS BY M.WILLIAMS / TOP RANK

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(March 2, 2021) — Two undefeated junior welterweight kings, one undisputed title. The stakes don’t get any higher.

WBC/WBO champion Jose Ramirez, the pride of California’s Central Valley, will fight Scotland’s IBF/WBA champion Josh Taylor for the undisputed world championship Saturday, May 22. The winner will become only the second undisputed junior welterweight champion of the four-belt era, joining pound-for-pound great Terence “Bud” Crawford.

Promoted by Top Rank, Ramirez-Taylor will be televised live on ESPN and ESPN Deportes (and simulcast on ESPN+) starting at 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT. The location, venue, and undercard information will be announced shortly.

“This is the best boxing has to offer, two elite fighters in the prime of their careers colliding in a legacy-defining matchup for the undisputed championship of the world,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. “It’s a true 50-50 fight, one that the fans and both fighters demanded.”

Ramirez (26-0, 17 KOs) has been a world champion since March 2018, when he toppled Amir Imam via unanimous decision to win the vacant WBC strap. Following the Imam victory, he hired noted trainer Robert Garcia, and the duo has combined to go 4-0 in world title fights. Ramirez knocked out Maurice Hooker in July 2019 to unify world titles and defended his belts last August with a majority decision over former world champion Viktor Postol. Ramirez, a proud son of Mexican immigrants who hails from Avenal, Calif., is an agent of social change in his community. He’s devoted his time and resources to myriad causes, including cancer research, water rights for area farmers, and COVID-19 relief for Central Valley field workers.

“I look forward to making history by becoming the first boxer of Mexican descent to hold all four major world title belts,” Ramirez said. “I dedicate this fight to the Central Valley farm workers, who are out there every day helping feed the world. This fight is big, but nothing is bigger than getting vaccinations to the farm workers right now in the Central Valley.”

“No excuses, no fake social media promises, no grandstanding. This is the best fighting the best at their absolute best,” said Rick Mirigian, Ramirez’s manager. “Jose will have his hand raised in the end, solidifying his status as a Hall of Famer.”

Like Ramirez, Taylor (17-0, 13 KOs) fought as a lightweight at the 2012 London Olympics, where he advanced to the Round of 16. While he didn’t turn pro until 2015, “The Tartan Tornado” won the Commonwealth 140-pound title in only his seventh pro bout. Taylor toppled Postol by unanimous decision in 2018 and won the IBF world title the following year with a decision over Ivan Baranchyk. He unified the IBF and WBA titles in October 2019, edging Regis Prograis by majority decision in a brutal masterpiece. He made his first defense as a unified champion last September, blasting out mandatory challenger Apinun Khongsong in the first round. Taylor hopes to make a little history of his own as the first undisputed, four-belt Scottish champion.

Taylor said, “I’m excited it’s been finalized and over the line. I can’t wait to get in there for the biggest fight of my career. Fighting for the undisputed title is something all boxers dream about.”

Use the hashtag #RamirezTaylor to join the conversation on social media. For more information, visit www.toprank.com, www.espn.com/boxing; Facebook: facebook.com/trboxing; Twitter: twitter.com/trboxing; twitter.com/ESPNRingside.

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Joe Smith Jr is ready to take on #3 WBO Maxim Vlasov (45-3, 26 KOs) this Saturday night on February 13th for the vacant WBO light heavyweight title in ‘The Bubble’ at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The start time for the telecast is at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT.

This will be the second time for Smith (26-3, 21 KOs) to be fighting for a world title. Two years ago, Smith was outclassed by WBA 175-lb champion Dimitry Bivol, losing a one-sided 12 round unanimous decision against the Russian fighter.

Smith’s opponent, 34-year-old Vlasov, doesn’t possess nearly the same kind of talent that Bivol, so it’s a fight that Joe has an excellent chance of winning.

However, he’s not likely to win by his customary route of victory, as Vlasov has got a rock-iron chin, and he’s been in there with bigger punchers than Smith.

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In the long-awaited battle between unbeaten junior featherweights, Stephen “Cool Boy” Fulton Jr., captured his first world title via unanimous decision over Angelo Leo in the main event of 2021’s inaugural SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast, live on SHOWTIME from Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., in a Premier Boxing Champions event.

Fulton (19-0, 8 KOs) turned in a masterful performance as he bested Albuquerque, New Mexico’s unbeaten world champion Leo (20-1, 9 KOs) to end Philadelphia’s world title drought. With his win over Leo, the 26-year-old Fulton has now toppled eight undefeated fighters in his young professional career. The ringside judges scored the fight 119-109, 119-109 and 118-110.

“It feels good,” said Fulton following the biggest win of his professional career. “I told you that I would engage more in this fight. I boxed a little but I engaged more to show him that I’m better than him at what he does best. I’m used to dealing with fighting inside the gym, inside the ring. Everyone I’ve fought tried to bully me. This time I did to them what they try to do to me. And I got the job done.”

An accidental clash of heads in the opening round opened a cut over the left eye of Leo but it ultimately did not play much of a role in the fight. The two fighters combined to throw 1,993 punches throughout the back-and-forth 12-round fight which was fought largely at close range in the middle of the ring. Fulton threw 913 power punches which ranks third all time in the junior featherweight division’s rich history.

Fulton added, “I wore him down by attacking his body and pushing him back. I had to change the whole narrative, push him back and dropping those uppercuts in. That’s how I got the job done. From like the fifth round, that’s when I knew I was going to take off. I never got tired from engaging.

“After a year off, I feel I did a good job but I could be a lot better, a lot sharper. I want Luis Nery, Brandon Figueroa. I want all the champions. I want to be undisputed.”

Photos by Amanda Westcott / SHOWTIME

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WBO titlists included in ESPN’s rising stars list:

Former WBO Featherweight World Champion Shakur “Newark” Stevenson, former WBO Jr. Middleweight World Champion Jaime Munguia, current WBO Mini-Flyweight World Champion Wilfredo ‘Bimbito’ Méndez, current WBO Jr. Flyweight Champion Elwin Soto are included in ESPN’s Top 25 under 25, where the sports network lists the rising stars of Boxing.

Also included are former WBO/NABO Lightweight Champion Ryan Garcia, former WBO Inter-Continental Lightweight Champion Devin Haney, WBO International Featherweight Champion Rubén Villa, WBO International Heavyweight Champion Daniel Dubois, WBO Middleweight ranked #12 Edgar Berlanga, WBO Jr. Lightweight ranked #13 Lamont Roach,Jr, WBO Flyweight ranked #3 Junto Nakatani.

More on: https://www.espn.com/boxing/story/_/id/29391570/boxing-top-25-25-meet-stars-future

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21-year-old lightweight prospect Ryan Garcia is set for action on Saturday, headlining the Canelo-Kovalev undercard in the night’s co-feature on DAZN, facing Filipino battler Romero Duno in a fight that may or may not wind up competitive, but will almost certainly be an entertaining watch for fans.

Garcia (18-0, 15 KO) is expected to do a number on Duno (21-1, 16 KO), who is shorter and seems to have the more limited toolset, but Duno is a full-on warrior, too, a guy who fights his guts out every time he’s in the ring.

The fight has come about in a pretty unusual and fairly high-profile manner, considering that this is not exactly an elite-level matchup. Garcia was supposed to return to the ring in September against Avery Sparrow, who wound up arrested the day before the bout and was, obviously, pulled from the fight.

Duno, who was on the same card, was offered to Garcia as a short-notice replacement opponent, but Garcia and Golden Boy couldn’t come to terms on that, resulting in a very public and pretty ugly spat between fighter and promoter.

In the end, cooler heads prevailed, with Garcia signing an extension with Golden Boy and moving forward to the Duno fight on this date, a big opportunity on a major card.

On Duno’s end, he didn’t have any trash to talk about Garcia “ducking” him in September.

“I respect the decision because I know that King Ryan had already prepared for a different opponent, and that’s why he didn’t accept the offer,” Duno said on Tuesday.

Garcia was very brief in his discussion of the fight and any “controversy” surrounding it not happening a couple of months ago.

“I’m here now, I’m ready to do my thing Saturday night and prove that I’m the better fighter,” he said. “Words are cheap, I’m just ready to show what I can do.”

Duno is also fully aware that he’s the underdog, and that it’s believed that Garcia’s speed and skills will be too much for him, but he believes in himself, saying, “A lot of people said that King Ryan is going to beat you, but I said to myself that maybe I can have a technique to counter that kind of speed.”

Outside of Garcia’s huge social media presence — which he’s right about when he says that everyone but him seems to bring it up — he has a lot of naysayers and non-believers who feel he’s nothing more than an Instagram success who can’t back it up in the ring.

If he wins Saturday, he doesn’t sound like he expects anything to change there, at least not yet, and he’s not too concerned about it.

“I don’t know what it says to them, that’s up to their own judgment,” he said. “I believe in myself and my team believes in me and that’s all that matters. This is a big moment and a big time in my life.”

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The WBO World Light Heavyweight Championship Clash Canelo vs. Kovalev undercard will be brimming with action as it features the returns of Ryan Garcia, Bakhram Murtazaliev, Seniesa Estrada, Marlen Esparza and many others. The event will take place Saturday, Nov. 2 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and will be streamed live exclusively as one of the most anticipated events this fight season on DAZN.

“We have put a lot of thought into this long-awaited night, and we’re eager to deliver one of the best undercards of the year,” said Oscar De La Hoya, Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy. “This event will feature some of our brightest talents taking on the toughest fights of their careers. With Ryan Garcia, we have a huge star in the making, but he’ll need to get past a tough, hard-hitting contender in Romero Duno to secure his path for a world title. We also have Seniesa Estrada and Marlen Esparza, who will look to final end their rivalry in a fight for the Interim WBA Flyweight Title. So, whether in person or live on DAZN, a new chapter in boxing’s history will unfold on November 2.”

As announced previously, rising superstar Ryan Garcia (18-0, 15 KOs) of Victorville, Calif. will look to defeated WBO NABO Lightweight Champion “Ruthless” Romero Duno (21-1, 16 KOs) of Cotabato City, Philippines in the 12-round co-main event to Canelo vs. Kovalev WBO World Title Duel. This will be a fight between two of the hardest-hitting lightweights in the Golden Boy stable.

“This is a big moment for me,” said Ryan Garcia. “These opportunities don’t come often. It’s my chance to show what I’m capable of on the biggest stage in boxing. I’m not going to let this opportunity slip. I’m fighting against Romero Duno, the opponent I wanted since the beginning, so I’m going show that I’ve reached another level on Nov. 2.”

“This is the opportunity I’ve been waiting for,” said Romero Duno. “I’m so excited to be part of a such a big night as the co-main event of Canelo vs. Kovalev. This fight has been building up for some time. I’ve had my eye on Ryan Garcia for a while now. I promise to do everything it takes to beat him on Nov. 2 and take home a big victory for the Philippines!”

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