Lomachenko Makes Boxing History With Latest Title

Ukrainian boxer defeats Jorge Linares to win lightweight world championship.

Vasiliy Lomachenko punches Jorge Linares during their WBA lightweight title fight at Madison Square Garden on May 12, 2018 in New York City.  (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
Vasiliy Lomachenko punches Jorge Linares during their WBA lightweight title fight at Madison Square Garden on May 12, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

Vasiliy Lomachenko didn’t just earn the lightweight world championship with his 10-round TKO of previous champ Jorge Linares on Saturday night.

The 30-year-old southpaw left the Madison Square Garden ring with a singular place in the record books. With the victory, the Ukranian boxer won a world title in three weight divisions in the fewest fights ever in the history of the sport — 12 fights overall. (The previous record was held by Australian legend Jeff Fenech, who took 20 fights to achieve the feat in 1988.)

“This was just another slice of history for Lomachenko, whose entire focus when he turned pro after winning Olympic gold medals for Ukraine in 2008 and 2012 was to make as much history as quickly as he could,” wrote ESPN’s Dan Rafael. “He is widely considered the best amateur of all time —396-1 — and he is convincingly making his case as the best of his time in the pro ranks.”

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