Vasiliy Lomachenko stood on the doorstep of becoming an undisputed world champion just a few short months ago. Following George Kambosos’s unexpected victory over Teofimo Lopez, the Australian native brazenly choose the former two-time Olympic gold medalist as his next opponent.
While Lomachenko was flattened and honored, he ultimately decided against taking Kambosos up on his offer, in lieu of the ongoing Russian invasion in his native land of Ukraine. Having served his countrymen, Lomachenko officially made his long awaited return earlier tonight at the Hulu Theater in Madison Square Garden..
A loud and boisterous crowd rose to its feet as the 34-year-old pound-for-pound star sauntered through the arena. However, in spite of the New York crowd standing firmly in his corner, his opponent, Jamaine Ortiz, remained unafraid of what stood before him.
In the opening frame, an aggressive Ortiz took the center of the ring. A consistent and deleterious jab was the story of the round as the Puerto Rican opened a noticeable cut underneath his foes right eye.
Oozing with confidence at this point, Ortiz came out even more dogged in the second period. Known for his bemusing angles, Ortiz was unwilling to play Lomachenko’s game. Instead, Ortiz stuck a hard right hand into the face of his time and time again. With precious seconds melting off the clock, Lomachenko found himself at a decided disadvantage as he remained pin against the ropes. Ortiz, in kind, tee’d off mercilessly.
In an attempt to change the rhythm of the fight in the fourth, Lomachenko moved away from his normal box first approach and would instead employee a more fan friendly attack. For much of the period, the Ukrainian pushed his much bigger foe, forcing him to retreat.
Still, even with his minuscule amount of success, Ortiz took control in the sixth. Throughout most of the period, a seemingly timid Lomachenko refused to engage. Instead, he allowed the 26-year-old to dictate much of the action. As a dejected Lomachenko returned to his corner, a fired up Ortiz rose his hands triumphantly as he gestured to the New York crowd.
Unwilling to sit on his laurels, Ortiz’s work rate ramped up considerably. While he found himself in range at times, the Ukrainian opted against letting his hands go. More than willing to take full advantage, Ortiz piled up the points. With everything going his way, Ortiz was left on wobbly legs in the 10th. During the frame, a one-two combination pushed the highly ranked contender into the ropes, forcing him to hold for much of the round.
With the championship rounds approaching, Lomachenko chased his man for much of the period. But while he attempted to close the show strong, including in the 10th where Ortiz was visibly buzzed, the former pound-for-pound stalwart was unable to muster any true offense.
As the final few seconds ticked away, Lomachenko appeared despondent. Moments later, however, all three judges scoring the bout handed him the victory.
While close, all three judges scoring the bout handed in nearly identical scorecards of 115-113, 116-112, and 117-111 in favor of Ortiz.