Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. George Kambosos fight results, highlights: 'Loma' dismantles foe with late knockout

The former unified champion is once again draped in gold after a stellar performance in Australia

After years being in each other's orbit without facing off in the ring, Vasily Lomachenko and George Kambosos met on Saturday in Perth, Australia with the vacant IBF lightweight title on the line. After dominating the fight with pure boxing technique, Lomachenko dropped Kambosos twice with body shots before scoring a TKO in Round 11.

The gulf in technique between the two was clear from the opening moments of the fight, with Kambosos chasing, but never catching, Lomachenko. The Ukrainian struck early and often with clean combinations and heavy left hands.

Even in his best rounds, Kambosos couldn't land 10 or more punches, with Lomachenko easily controlling the distance and determining the moments in which they would engage offensively. When those moments came, Lomachenko would throw a slick combination, cut an angle and slide out of range without taking return first.

As the fight hit the second half, Lomachenko began to focus more of his attack toward the body. That paid off in Round 11, with a cracking left to the liver resulting in Kambosos taking a few steps backward before taking a knee. Kambosos beat the referee's count but the following Lomachenko blitz, including two more body shots, forced him to the ground again, at which point Kambosos' corner threw in the towel.

The stoppage came at the 2:49 mark of Round 11.

"My plan was to adjust to my opponent," Lomachenko said after the fight. "This is what I did in the fight. Toward the end of the rounds I needed to finish strong. In the last three rounds, I was trying to find his body."

Kambosos had nothing but respect for Lomachenko after the loss, touting his own refusal to look for easy fights.

"He's one of the best fighters in history," Kambosos said. "I'm not ashamed. I wanted to finish the fight on the feet, I really did."

After the win, Lomachenko was asked about WBA lightweight champion Gervonta "Tank" Davis' tweet that he wanted to handle his business in his upcoming fight with Frank Martin before a bout with Lomachenko.

"You know, during my boxing career I never ran around," Lomachenko said. "I always take the fight. Right now, I want to come back to my home, spend time with my family and then we can talk about the future."

The undercard saw a pair of new champions crowned. Cherneka Johnson unseated Nina Hughes as WBA bantamweight champion with a majority decision in their 10-round bout. Plus, Pedro Guevara eked out a decision over Andrew Moloney to claim the interim WBC junior bantamweight title -- a result Moloney immediately disputed and claimed he would retire as a result.

"I felt in total control. I did what I had to do in there tonight to get the win," Moloney said. "I don't want to make excuses, but I went into this fight with a torn biceps, so I couldn't throw the left hook unless I needed to. I didn't feel like I needed to throw it because I was in total control. "

Fight card, results

• Vasiliy Lomachenko def. George Kambosos Jr. via 11th-round TKO
• Cherneka Johnson def. Nina Hughes (c) via majority decision (95-95, 96-94, 98-92)
  
• Pedro Guevara def. Andrew Moloney via split decision (115-113, 113-116, 115-113)

Lomachenko vs. Kambosos scorecard, live coverage

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Total
Lomachenko	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	TKO		100
Kambosos	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9			90

[May 12, 2024 at 1:13 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. George Kambosos -- Round 11: Through 10 rounds, Kambosos had still not landed 10 punches in any round, including only landing one punch in two of those rounds. Kambosos has never stopped trying but he simply doesn't have the technical ability to keep up with Lomachenko. Lomachenko continued to land some good shots before cracking Kambosos to the body. Kambosos stumbled back before taking a knee. After Kambosos rose from the knockdown, Lomachenko flurried hard, landing to the body again for another knockdown as Kambosos' corner threw in the towel. Official result: Vasiliy Lomachenko def. George Kambosos Jr. via TKO, Round 11

[May 12, 2024 at 1:09 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. George Kambosos -- Round 10: A heavy right hand landed early for Lomachenko. Kambosos seemed increasingly hesitant to throw anything other than big power shots -- which wildly missed -- because of Lomachenko's pinpoint punches coming at him. When you're focused on a fighter for showing toughness more than anything meaningful in terms of offense, it's clear what way the fight is going. As Lomachenko landed two more combinations, that's the point this fight had hit. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Lomachenko (100-90)

[May 12, 2024 at 1:05 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. George Kambosos -- Round 9: Lomachenko was completely comfortable coming forward and forcing the action. Kambosos had a cut opened over his right eye from the heavy left hand of Lomachenko. Lomachenko's masterful distance control meant he could engage, smother the return fire from Kambosos and bounce back outside without taking any damage. Kambosos simply looks lost against a tactician of Lomachenko's level. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Lomachenko (90-81)

[May 12, 2024 at 1:01 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. George Kambosos -- Round 8: 64-21 advantage for Lomachenko in power punches landed through seven rounds entering Round 8. Nothing much changed for Lomachenko as he was able to comfortably close distance, unload with a few clean shots and move out of the way before Kambosos could do anything in return. The skill difference had become a massive gulf round after round, with Kambosos simply having nothing to offer in return and likely not having the power to dissuade Lomachenko from following the same strategy of choosing when to engage, landing a crisp combination and moving out. A hard left hand landed for Lomachenko in the final minute. Unofficial scorecard 10-9 Lomachenko (80-72)

[May 12, 2024 at 12:57 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. George Kambosos -- Round 7: After a solid round for Kambosos, Lomachenko used lateral movement to slide around the ring, picking spots to step in with the lead right or power left hand. Kambosos missed wildly and slipped to the canvas, not a knockdown but a sign of how out of sorts Kambosos was. Lomachenko connected to the body and trapped Kambosos in the corner where he unloaded with a combination. Lomachenko started to throw more shots to the body in the round, which was effective work. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Lomachenko (70-63)

[May 12, 2024 at 12:53 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. George Kambosos -- Round 6: The hometown crowd appeared increasingly frustrated with Kambosos, as he fired with punches that came nowhere near connecting with Lomachenko. Lomachenko connected with a left hand but Kambosos landed his own left hook, the best shot he'd landed in several rounds. This brought Kambosos a bit of confidence as he finally tried to fight off the front foot. Lomachenko quickly responded by cutting the angle and landing his powerful left hand several times. Kambosos' best round of the fight but still likely edged by Lomachenko's technique. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Lomachenko (60-54)

[May 12, 2024 at 12:49 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. George Kambosos -- Round 5: Kambosos could not figure out how to approach Lomachenko, which allowed Lomachenko to connect with a left hand that stumbled Kambosos. Lomachenko connected with a one-two combination at the end of the round that again caught Kambosos clean. The fight was quickly spiraling out of control for Kambosos at this point. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Lomachenko (50-45)

[May 12, 2024 at 12:45 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. George Kambosos -- Round 4: Lomachenko began to find himself increasingly comfortable, comfortably headhunting as Kambosos tried to charge forward. Lomachenko started to land clean combinations while Kambosos missed wildly. It was a strong round for Lomachenko who began to completely control the fight as Kambosos looked befuddled by Lomachenko's sharp shooting. Unofficial scorecard: Lomachenko 10-9 (40-36)

[May 12, 2024 at 12:41 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. George Kambosos -- Round 3: Lomachenko started to fight off the front foot more and move, forcing Kambosos to try to counter the pressure sty.e. Kambosos came up short with right hands and left hooks as Kambosos cut the angles and started to cleanly sting to both the head and body. The round ended with a tense exchange both ways, but again it was Lomachenko landing the better shots. Unofficial scorecards: 10-9 Lomachenko (30-27)

[May 12, 2024 at 12:37 am ET · Brandon Wise]

Round 2: Lomachenko again goes on the offensive. He's starting to pick at him with combinations on the inside. Kambosos tries to get started by going forward, but Loma manages to shut down most of the offense. Loma side steps well and counters. Kambosos lands a solid right hand to the body that gets Loma's attention, but he wears it well. Loma finishes the round with a good three-punch combination. Interesting round, but Lomachenko takes it. 10-9 Loma (20-18 overall)

[May 12, 2024 at 12:34 am ET · Brandon Wise]

Round 1 of Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. George Kambosos is underway. Lomachenko, known for starting slow to digest information and pick up on his opponents' tendencies, goes on the offensive a bit and corners Kambosos briefly. He did a good job of neutralizing any offense from Kambosos by disciplining him to the body a couple times and really nullifying anything Kambosos could do. 10-9 Lomachenko.