With an amateur record of 396-1, and a professional record of 18-3, Vasiliy Lomachenko can be considered one of the greatest boxers of the modern generation.
The Ukrainian Lomachenko boasts wins over the likes of George Kambosos Jr. , Luke Campbell, and Jamaine Ortiz in an 11-year professional career.
When Lomachenko retired in June 2025, boxing lost one of its most skilled champions.
Able to showcase his elite and unique talents throughout his career, ‘The Matrix’ was a true entertainer. One of his greatest performances came in 2016.
After becoming a world featherweight champion in just his third professional fight in June 2014, Lomachenko would defend his WBO title three times. Then, in June 2016, Lomachenko moved to the super featherweight division.
At the time, Roman Martinez from Puerto Rico was the WBO champion of the division. Fighting in New York, Lomachenko looked to become a two-division world champion.
Martinez went into his title defense with a 29-2-3 record. As for ‘Loma’, he had a 5-1 record.
Despite having much more professional experience, Martinez would enjoy little success in the fight. After losing the opening four rounds, Lomachenko would dethrone the champion in the fifth round.
‘Rocky’ would be on the end of pressure from Lomachenko, who was landing damaging shots to the champion. As Martinez was trying to evade the punches of the Ukrainian and get out of the corner, a two-punch combination would land for Lomachenko.
The final blow of the fight would be a sharp lead hook from Lomachenko, as Martinez was left flat on his back.
The win would make Lomachenko the quickest fighter to ever become a world champion in two weight divisions. ‘The Matrix’ made history in just seven professional fights.
Lomachenko’s win over Martinez would be the fifth of 13 in a row before losing out to Teofimo Lopez in 2020.
Despite losing his champion status against the American, Lomachenko was able to reclaim gold in his final career fight.
Facing Kambosos Jr., who boasted a win over Lopez, the pair met in May 2024 for the vacant IBF World Lightweight title.
A great showing from Lomachenko would be capped off in the 11th round. Scoring a TKO win, ‘Loma’ was the first fighter to stop Kambosos Jr.
Although it would not become known until over a year after the fight in Perth, Lomachenko’s meeting with the Australian would be his final career outing.
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