All photos by Marilyn Paulino/RBRBoxing
On Saturday, April 8, 2017, in front of a sold out crowd of 2,828 at The Theater at the MGM National Harbor, Vasyl Lomachenko (8-1, 6 KOs) and Jason Sosa (20-2-4, 15 KOs) faced off in a scheduled 12-round bout.
“Hi-Tech,” as Lomachenko is known, put on a masterful performance in the innagural boxing match at the new MGM in Oxon Hill, MD.
Many of the fans that packed the arena waved Ukranian flags and kept the atmosphere festive.
The bout started off with Lomachenko looking sharp, landing two-and-three-punch combinations, while Sosa was just a few steps behind.
Sosa wasn’t necessarily blown out early on, but he was introduced to Lomachenko’s movement, crazy angles and class right off the bat.
Lomachenko glided in and out of range throughout the fight, landing crisp combinations on Sosa, who could never acclimate to the pace of the fight.
In Round 6, Lomachenko began taunting Sosa with a bull and matador pose. Lomachenko ate a good hard right from Sosa in that round–probably Sosa’s best punch of the fight–but Lomachenko didn’t budge and kept firing away.
Right on point, in between Round 6 and 7, Eric B. & Rakim’s “Don’t Sweat the Technique” began blaring from the house speakers as Lomachenko’s class and technique was simply too much for Sosa.
Top Rank‘s Carl Moretti echoed what many folks said ringside.
“This kid is so technically sound–and rarely makes a mistake,” said Moretti about Lomachenko.
While much was made of Sosa’s ability to defy the odds and come from behind, he simply was never in the bout.
After nine one-sided rounds, the end of the fight came when Sosa’s corner called a halt to the bout after Round 9–giving Lomachenko a TKO victory.
After the fight, Sosa was frustrated and admitted that Lomachenko didn’t allow him to work his strategy.
“I couldn’t really execute anything, he’s a great fighter,” said Sosa.
After the dismantling of Sosa, Lomachenko answered questions about his future.
“I want to go home, rest and then negotiate with all the champions in my division. If they refuse to fight I’ll move up to 135,” said Lomachenko.
“I only want to fight champions. If we can’t get 130-pound champions, I would like to fight Terry Flanagan in England,” said Lomachenko.
There has been another potential matchup bubbling–especially on social media–and that is one with former Top Rank fighter, Mikey Garcia.
“That’s a great fight and one I would like to make soon,” said Lomachenko.
Is there anyone at 130 or 135 pounds that can beat Lomachenko at the moment?
Check out action from Round 5 below:
