Vasiliy Lomachenko gave his besieged Ukrainian countrymen something to celebrate.
The 34-year-old lightweight contender, who had been out of the ring for 10 months because his country is at war with Russia, defeated Jamaine Ortiz by a unanimous decision in a 12-round bout Saturday at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York.
The victory sets up a showdown with undisputed champion Devin Haney, although no deal is in place.
Lomachenko (17-2, 11 KOs) didn’t get off to a strong start, which might be attributed to both his layoff and Ortiz’s ability.
Ortiz gave a surprisingly strong performance, flicking a quick, accurate jab, landed his share of power shots and using fleet movement to frustrate Lomachenko in the first half of a competitive fight.
However, Lomachenko, backed by a sympathetic crowd that repeatedly changed “Loma! Loma! Loma!”, began to take charge in the middle rounds. He pushed the action, connecting on cleaner, harder punches than his opponent and dominating the championship rounds to claim a hard-fought victory.
The official scores were 117-111, 116-112 and 115-113. Boxing Junkie also scored it 115-113 for Lomachenko, seven rounds to five.
Lomachenko expressed respect afterward for Ortiz, with whom he sparred before his previous fight.
“I told you before: Jamaine Ortiz is a tough fighter,” he said. “He’s a good fighter, he understands boxing.”
So does Lomachenko, the former pound-for-pound king who was knocked from his perch and lost his 135-pound titles to Teofimo Lopez in 2020. He has now won three consecutive fights, which puts him squarely in the title picture.
He was asked afterward what motivated him down the stretch Saturday.
“You know what motivated me, of course; four belts, four belts,” he said.
That was a reference to Haney, who joined his rival in the ring as he was being interviewed. Lomachenko reiterated that he’s prepared to take on what would be a significant challenge, which suited the young champion just fine.
“That’s what I like to hear,” he said. “I took the risk, I went to Australia twice, and everything [former champion] George Kambosos mandated I signed up for. We’ll see when we go to negotiate.”
Lomachenko probably will be an underdog if he faces Haney, particularly because some might argue that he wasn’t as dominating against Ortiz as we’ve come to expect.
Even Lomachenko suggested he wasn’t at his best because of the layoff, but he also implied that wouldn’t be the case against Haney.
“I need more time for preparation,” he said. “I’ll be ready.”
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