Lomachenko Brilliant in Wipeout Performance Over Gutsy Commey – Wins Unanimous Decision By Virtual Shutout to Possibly Set Him Up For Something Big at Lightweight

Written by Tré Berry III | 12/11/2021

Lightweight season has officially concluded, and the name of the game for 🇺🇦Vasiliy “Loma” Lomachenko (16-2-0, 11KO) was to do what his other contemporaries failed to do during this 3 week stretch that harbored 8 of the 10 best Lightweights in the world, and that was to outright dominate his opponent. Well on this night, he did exactly that, as he took out 🇬🇭Richard “RC” Commey (30-4-0, 27KO) in a brilliant performance by shutout variety, that harkens back to Loma’s greatest days when injury was no longer in the backdrop of their concerns on the minds of watchers.

This was one of the most physical performances of Lomachenko’s career, and Richard had a major problem in finding places to land, and in dealing with his footwork. With the damage done, and concerns from Loma to the opposing corner, he let up a little bit at the end of the 7th round from the onslaught, and cruised to a decision.

PAINFUL AFFAIR FOR ONE, AND ONE STEP CLOSER TO GOALS FOR THE OTHER

Lomachenko’s carefully crafted measuring practices were in heavy dose, looking to get Richard Commey to reveal his tendencies. Commey didn’t want to give him anything by keeping his hand close to his vest. Commey probed with the jab, not fully committing due to no opening being presented.

An interesting move was when Loma stepped around to the left, Commey shifted on the backfoot in order to get the Ukrainian back in center position. Towards the end of the first round, Loma landed a solid left hand to punctuate what was a careful opening round between the two fighters.

Lomachenko began to utilize his footwork movement, darting in and out at angles. Commey’s gameplan was clearly to go to the body, and to sneak the power right hand in…but Lomachenko typically ducked underneath the right hand.

Loma started throwing meat on the left hand to the chest. Much of the second round was Commey swinging at air with Vasiliy slipping out of position. At the end of the round, Loma landed a beautiful cross, jab, cross, left hook combination that rocked Commey, who staggered back to the ropes.

With seconds left in the round, Loma stayed in position, didn’t jump on him, and told Commey to go to his corner – a mental tactic to plant the seeds of south in the Ghanaian fighter.

Both began to wrestle on the inside, trying to jockey for position, and it was Vasiliy who was winning the leverage battle, tossing around the bigger man and taking his positioning away. Commey certainly was trying to land while on the inside here, but he was having difficulty in finding his target.

Commey did throw a rare triple left hook, with two of them landing on the ear. Lomachenko a moment later ramped it up a level, showcasing beautiful combination punching and slide tactics all in one, and landed another heavy left cross right up the pike at the end of the round.

Lomachenko was slipping virtually everything that Commey was throwing in the first half of the 4th round, and was finding cracks in Richard’s defense, with uppercut on the inside, right hooks to the ear. This was a dominant round perhaps worthy of a 10-8 score, as Loma defensively was flawless, and simply couldn’t miss with his counterpunching abilities.

Round 5, Commey looked visibly confused and hesitant given the events that unfolded in the 4th round. Loma parked a little more on the inside to work the body, while Commey was stuck on the balls of his feet due to reacting to the multiple feints the Ukrainian put forth in range.

Round 6, Lomachenko bounced on his feet to take advantage of Commey’s plodding footwork. There was a moment where Loma was stuck in the corner, but Commey couldn’t capitalize due to Loma darting forward. He pulled off a 🇺🇸Shawn Porter style 180 shift to circle round, and get Commey in the corner, to where Vasiliy began to open up with right and left hooks, using the shoulder subtly to get the correct range to land.

The normally accurate Commey found himself in what was a compromising situation. Loma hurt Commey with a short right hook, then he hit him with another one that dropped Commey down to the canvas.

Commey was in terrible shape with his back left leg, as well as his cognitive abilities, and Loma angrily looked at Richard Commey’s corner, waving for them to stop the fight because he didn’t want to inflict any heavy damage. With no choice, he got back to action and unleashed a whirlwind of violence to end the round.

The Ring-Physicians checked Commey before the 8th round, and they cleared him to continue. Commey, still visibly hurt, was certainly in better condition than he was the round before…but he was gunshy from it. Lomachenko was more methodical in his approach, slowing up on the punch rate, looking to land the sweeping right hook whenever an opening was visible.

Round 9, Commey tried, letting his hands go and emptying the toolbox. Even though most of the punches in the early going was blocked, he should still he commended for that. Lomachenko seemed keen on firing uppercuts with both the left and right hand, noticing that Commey was beginning to crouch more than was the case earlier.

Lomachenko started to probe the right jab in order to open him up. Seeing what he needed to see, he began to fire in combination, and Commey didn’t have the defensive positioning to thwart the attack. The full cageyness was on full display from the miniature Ukrainian in the 10 round, carefully picking his shots, probing with the flicking jab, and periodically going to the body.

Commey was beginning to use the right hand in different ways, and though he was still having trouble finding the target, he was getting a little bit closer. Loma fought the backend of the round in a reactive state, waiting for Commey any time he opened up, to fire upstairs and capitalize.

In the 11th stanza, Lomachenko’s accuracy, upper body movement, and footwork was in full blow, and much like the 4th round, Richard had trouble even locating his opponent. With his right eye beginning to swell, he kept pushing forward, powered behind his guts.

Lomachenko fired an 8 punch combination while Commey was stuck behind his defensive shell mid round. Lomachenko, understanding RC’s vulnerability here, kept the beautiful combination punching upstairs, knocking that Commey was reluctant to counterpunch due to his own defensive safety.

The 12th round, Lomachenko began to barrel forward, landing the right hook, right uppercut combination, and coming in with his right shoulder in order to rock Commey off balance, to regain position center ring. Commey landed a couple of decent left hooks that landed behind the guard.

Lomachenko taking the angles, and firing at unorthodox angles had Commey tripping over his own feet. Fortunately for a class warrior like Richard, he was able to finish the fight on his feet, as Loma once again let up on the gas pedal in the last 5 seconds to nix the punishment from his hands.

The scorecards were merely academic at this point, as it was crystal clear who the victor was. One Judge had it too close, but the other 2 scorecards largely reflected what unfolded on the night, and Vasiliy got the dominant victory that he was searching for.

Richard Commey, battered and bruised…it may be a tough pill to swallow, but his toughness should be recognized in being able to take the level of punishment in which he ended up taking – perhaps too tough for his own good. As for Loma, it was smooth sailing the entire night, and now he path seems clear for something major.

THINGS ARE BACK IN ORDER, AND THE STARS ARE ALIGNING FOR THE BIG TIME:

It has been a very interesting watch regarding undoubtedly 8 of the top 10 best Lightweights in the world facing another member of that top 10, with 7 being familiar faces, and 🇲🇽Isaac Cruz becoming a welcoming addition to the mix.

With the young stars of the division such as 🇺🇸Devin Haney and 🇺🇸Gervonta Davis failing to gain legitimate separation from their most recent opponents to warrant the level of acclaim tag that promoters have dumped on them, as well as 🇺🇸Teofimo’s stock, and character reputation plummeting from events surrounding 🇦🇺🇬🇷George Kambosos Jnr’s monumental decision…it left the stage for the longest reigning of the bunch in Loma to see whether he could dominate a fellow top-10 member in Commey, to stake claim as the sole dominant force.

Even as convincing as the Kambosos Jnr’s victory was, it wasn’t a dominant victory either, so given the manner in which Vasiliy was able to take apart a respected, well balanced Lightweight such as Commey in sustained action through 12 rounds, and given Loma’s past performances at 135 lbs. void of any injury talk, there should be universal interpretation suggesting that Vasiliy should be viewed as the chief dog in the division regarding the best factor…..the single force that the public looks at as having the best all-around skill in the division, and one whom would command betting favorite odds in any match in the Lightweight ranks that you could conjure up.

Now this is where things get very interesting. The Undisputed World Champion of the division is 🇦🇺🇬🇷George Kambosos Jnr., and he deserves the right to be viewed as the man on the throne, because he holds the trinkets, as well as the keys towards the action that control the paths of every one else.

Since George has planted his flag, he has done everything right, whether it’s interviews, expressing his desire to continue to fight big fights right away (without the BS meter going off), carrying himself with a level of authenticity that is honestly refreshing to see in the current sport.

Kambosos’s desired next opponent…he left it up to two names – as long as they are willing to travel to Australia in order to take the major assignment in front of at least 50,000 of his faithful in the “Land Down Under”.

Devin Haney is one, as they discussed the prospects of meeting before and after his fight with 🇺🇸JoJo Diaz, and Vasiliy Lomachenko, whom Kambo says he respects, and would like to offer him a shot at the belts. Given Lomachenko’s history, and his willingness to either leave money on the table, or put it in the backseat behind his in-ring goals, there is an astronomically high chance that talks between the two meeting in Australia would not break down at the negotiation table, as they know the stakes.

Devin Haney made a verbal commitment towards a Kambosos fight…but Dev at this point hasn’t earned the privilege to take him just by his word, and concerns may arise about his asking price for the fight, and whether he would feel entitled to certain stipulations coming his way.

Now it does not mean that I am saying that this fight won’t happen next, I’m just merely pointing out that there is a lot of red tape to go through in order to make this fight, while there would be very little, to no obstacles holding up a potential Kambosos/Lomachenko fight…which in our view, makes that fight jump to the head of the line with priority, until or unless there’s some actual tangible news coming forth about real steps being taken on the Haney side of the ledger towards inking the bout.

Lomachenko and company are well aware of that, and within the next few days and weeks, they will be in contact with Kambosos people, his Promoter Lou DiBella, to see whether they can agree to a possible March or April 2022 date for the blockbuster match.

The once stagnant Lightweight division is now on the move, with constant shifting parts, and Loma here not only beating Commey, but the manner in which he did, has put himself in the best position towards getting a clear view in possibly getting his belts back, and then some. The 33 year old Ukrainian has been rejuvenated in his dedication, and the division is heavily on notice.