Lomachenko adds another title with dominant win over Campbell
We have full results from Lomachenko vs. Campbell, including our round-by-round live blog and scoring.
Luke Campbell was a game opponent, and was in the bout for longer than he was out of it, but he ultimately fell to the unrelenting pressure of Vasiliy Lomachenko on Saturday, losing a unanimous decision, 119-108, 119-108, 118-109. Lomachenko’s case for being the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world just got a lot better.
With the win, Lomachenko retains his WBA, WBO and The Ring world lightweight titles, and also picked up the vacant WBC world lightweight strap in the process. He moves to 14-1 as a professional.
Campbell used his range and length effectively throughout, and early on it looked like Lomachenko finally hit a puzzle he couldn’t solve. But Lomachenko slowly chipped away at Campbell, with his patented bursts of offense that slowly overwhelmed Campbell over the course of the bout.
Eventually, Lomachenko’s stiff shots to the body seemed to do the most damage. In the 11th round, Lomachenko’s body shots finally paid off, as he hurt Campbell bad with one and scored a knockdown. Campbell started to focus on blocking the body, but Lomachenko would go up top. It was both closer than the scorecards would imply and still a dominant performance by Lomachenko.
In the co-feature, Hughie Fury got off to a hot start against Alexander Povetkin, but faded fast in the closing rounds. That’s the opposite of what many expected, as Povetkin is getting up there in years and his gas tank isn’t what is once was. They were both tired by the end of it, but Povetkin ultimately did more damage and controlled the action for a lot longer.
SB Nation had that bout tied at 105-105 going into the final round, which Povetkin won decisively. The official scorecards were all 117-111 in favor of Povetkin for a unanimous decision win. He now holds the WBA international heavyweight tile.
Just before the co-feature, Charlie Edwards and Julio Cesar Martinez squared off in a bout that was won by the latter ... at first. Martinez swarmed Edwards and put him down with a sustained flurry of punches, but after being declared the winner via knockout, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman announced that Edwards was hit by a blatantly late shot while he was already down.That resulted in an immediate reversal, switching the bout to a no-contest and keeping the WBC world flyweight belt on Edwards.
Elsewhere on the undercard, James Tennyson picked up the vacant WBA international lightweight title with a knockout win over Atif Shafiq. Joe Cordina retained his British and Commonwealth lightweight belts with a decision win over Gavin Gwynne. In another highly-anticipated bout, Joshua Buatsi scored a big TKO victory over Ryan Ford, retaining his WBA international light heavyweight strap.
Below, you can find the play-by-play of the main event and co-feature as it happened, as well as SB Nation’s scoring for those bouts. Below that is a list of full results from Saturday’s card and all of our preview information from before the card got underway.
Vasiliy Lomachenko def. Luke Campbell via unanimous decision
Round 1: Campbell pawing out the jabs early, and is the immediate aggressor. Lomachenko taking his time to gauge the distance, he’s only thrown two short punches through the first minute. This is definitely a feeling-out round, because through two minutes, only a couple weak jabs have landed for both fighters. Campbell connects with a nice left hook, but it doesn’t phase Lomachenko. Short one-two from Lomachenko that Campbell moves away from. Hard left hand from Campbell, a hard hook that caught Lomachenko as he was coming in. With nothing else going on in the round, it’s gotta go to Campbell.
SB Nation scores the round 10-9 for Campbell (10-9 Campbell)
Round 2: Lomachenko needs to find a way inside as so far, Campbell’s gameplan is working. Campbell doesn’t land any of his jabs in the first minute though, and Lomachenko connects with two short right hooks, then a lunging left jab. He may be starting to find his range. Quick double jab from Lomachenko, then a short hook to the body.
SB Nation scores the round 10-9 for Lomachenko (19-19)
Round 3: Jab to the body from Lomachenko. Double jab lands. Campbell connects with a couple jabs and a body shot of his own, then a looping left hook catches Lomachenko on the jaw. Big left hand from Lomachenko stuns Campbell, and then another. They tie up, and are separated. Campbell lands a big straight left, but Lomachenko follows it with another slick double jab. Uppercut from Campbell near the end of the round.
SB Nation scores the round 10-9 for Lomachenko (29-28 Lomachenko)
Round 4: Campbell probing the jab out there, but he eats a big hook from Lomachenko, who is now moving a lot more side-to-side. Left uppercut from Campbell misses. Left to the body from Lomachenko, followed by a right up top that snaps Campbell’s head back. Campbell is warned for an inadvertant elbow. Left hook to the body from Lomachenko, and a massive right hook just misses. Short jab plus left hook combo from Campbell connects.
SB Nation scores the round 10-9 for Lomachenko (39-37 Lomachenko)
Round 5: Campbell follows a jab with a one-two that Lomachenko dodges. Two short uppercuts from Lomachenko land, but he eats a stiff jab. Left to the body from Lomachenko. Lomachenko gets Campbell against the ropes, but gets out of it with a hard body shot. Lomachenko ducks and rips two overhands, but Campbell handles them and connects with a hard left hand. Lomachenko catches Campbell coming in with a stiff left jab and he’s stunned. He turtles as Lomachenko swarms, but he’s saved by the end of the round.
SB Nation scores the round 10-9 for Lomachenko (49-46 Lomachenko)
Round 6: Campbell has recovered, because he comes out aggressive and sharp in the sixth. He connects with some jabs, but Lomachenko backs him up with two big hooks, and chases him down. He does eat a quick double jab from Campbell. Lomachenko is walking through all of Campbell’s punches, stalking him, but he’s not connecting with big shots in the round. He eats a couple hooks, but then lands a triple jab. Big single jab from Lomachenko snaps Campbell’s head back. Right hand over the top does damage, but Campbell catches him while retreating with two big punches to the body.
SB Nation scores the round 10-9 for Lomachenko (59-55 Lomachenko)
Round 7: Quick right hand snaps Campbell’s head back. More jabs from Campbell, but they’re mostly to keep his hand out there. Campbell catches Lomachenko coming in with a stiff punch, and Lomachenko is hurt! Campbell swings wildly trying to capitalize, but Lomachenko shakes it off. Lomachenko delivers a huge right hand though, and Campbell is on skates. Campbell is back into the ropes and Lomachenko fires a huge body shot, then a flurry against the rope. Campbell ties up, but after they’re separated, Lomachenko comes back with more hard punches, but Campbell is saved by the bell again. Campbell got some good shots in, but Lomachenko finished too strong.
SB Nation scores the round 10-9 for Lomachenko. (69-64 Lomachenko)
Round 8: Both fighters come out a little slower in the eighth. Campbell lands a left uppercut, then eats the patented Lomachenko double gab. Left up top, then one to the body from Lomachenko. Big jab from Campbell in response. Left hand over the top from Lomachenko. Campbell is starting to sit on his punches a big more. He gets Lomachenko into the corner and rips two body shots at him, but Lomachenko powers out of it. Left to the body from Lomachenko, then a short left up top. Campbell throws a right to the body. They exchange dirty boxing hooks up close.
SB Nation scores the round 10-9 for Lomachenko (79-73 Lomachenko)
Round 9: Lomachenko’s corner tells him to stop looking for the knockout punch, they want him to keep it a technical fight, because they think he’s winning it, and they didn’t like the damage he took last round. Both guys are starting to look a bit tired. Lomachenko lands a one-two combo inside, and then snaps Campbell’s head back with a stiff jab. Then the left overhand from Lomachenko. Hard left hand over the top from Campbell.
SB Nation scores the round 10-9 for Lomachenko (89-82 Lomachenko)
Round 10: A bit slower for the first minute of Round 10. Lomachenko is coming forward plenty though, with a quick flurry to the body. Campbell is hanging in there and dishing out damage as well, but Lomachenko is landing the cleaner blows and doing a better job of keeping out of danger. Short uppercuts from Lomachenko as Campbell doesn’t seem like he knows what he wants to do.
SB Nation scores the round 10-9 for Lomachenko (99-91 Lomachenko)
Round 11: Campbell peppers Lomachenko with a slew of short punches, but nothing serious. Lomachenko is keeping his head down, getting his shots in and not really taking any damage. There may have been an elbow or a headbutt, Lomachenko was clearly looking to the referee for something, but whatever it was was missed. Short left from Lomachenko, then a heavy body shot pushes Campbell against the ropes. Campbell is hurt, especially to the body. He lands more heavy body shots, and Campbell goes down. It’s a knockdown. When he gets back up, Lomachenko swarms and throws heavy punches. Campbell is running away, and he has to tie up to stay alive. Two hard body shots from Lomachenko, and Campbell is clearly hurting there.
SB Nation scores the round 10-8 for Lomachenko (109-99 Lomachenko)
Round 12: Lomachenko comes out aggressive in the 12th — he wants a knockout. Campbell ties up early. Left uppercut from Campbell misses. Left over the top from Lomachenko lands. Two body shots from Campbell, but he eats two short punches up top from Lomachenko. Campbell is warned for a low blow, and Lomachenko is frustrated that the action is stopping. Big combination from Lomachenko as Campbell is backing up. Two hooks to the body from Campbell, then a wild flurry from Lomachenko that includes two hooks to the body and two hard hits to the temple. Campbell actually scoops him and drops him on the ground out of desperation. Lomachenko connects up top as the fight ends.
SB Nation scores the round 10-9 for Lomachenko (119-108 Lomachenko)
Alexander Povetkin def. Hughie Fury via unanimous decision
Round 1: Fury comes out active as always, bouncing around with plenty of feints. He lands a stiff jab, dodges a left hook, and lands a couple jabs followed by an overhand right. Fury misses on a jab from range and a big right hand. Povetkin misses on another shot that falls short. Another jab lands for Fury, and then a couple left hands before the bell.
SB Nation scores the round 10-9 for Fury (10-9 Fury)
Round 2: Povetkin is trying to come forward with power shots early in the second round. He wants to slow down Fury’s footwork, and he gets Fury backing up with a heavy overhand left. He also lands a nice left hook to the body. Fury connects with two short jabs. They tie up briefly and Povetkin lands a hard short to the body. Another strong left jab from Fury. Povetkin just misses with an explosive left hook, but Fury blocks most of it. Povetkin pushes him against the ropes, and they have to be separated after tying up.
SB Nation scores the round 10-9 for Fury (20-18 Fury)
Round 3: Povetkin is throwing heavy, but he’s not landing his shots. Fury is blocking or keeping out of range. Povetkin is trying to control the pace though, cutting off Fury’s angles well. He just needs to connect. He misses on a left hook, but the short right to the body connects. They tie up and are separated. Fury is doing a good job of neutralizing Povetkin in the pocket. This is a much slower round, harder to score.
SB Nation scores the round 10-9 for Fury (30-27 Fury)
Round 4: Big overhand right from Fury misses, and he eats a couple short hooks as a result. Some big feints from Povetkin, and it leads to a heavy right hand over the top. Fury took some damage there, and barely avoids a second big right. Povetkin lunges forward with a left that does more damage. Fury is fading, and this was definitely a Povetkin round.
SB Nation scores the round 10-9 for Povetkin (39-37 Fury)
Round 5: Fury is moving around a lot less now, and it’s probably the power that Povetkin is throwing with. This is a slower round, but it’s controlled primarily by Povetkin. Fury’s jab isn’t coming forward with as much force, and Povetkin is getting some serious shots in on the inside.
SB Nation scores the round 10-9 for Povetkin (48-47 Fury)
Round 6: Fury is trying to be the aggressor in this round, he comes out and wings two big right hooks, both of which land solidly on the side of the head. Povetkin uncorks a massive overhand right, but Fury avoids it. Left hook to the body from Fury as they tie up again. It’s a much more active round for Fury and he’s now taking the fight to Povetkin.
SB Nation scores the round 10-9 for Fury (58-56 Fury)
Round 7: Povetkin is looking tired, probably from al the power punches he missed earlier in the bout. Fury comes forward with hard right jab. Povetkin ducks right into a massive left hand, and misses his follow-up. Right hand from Fury grazes Povetkin up high, then a miss from Povetkin. Povetkin lands a right hand counter after a three-punch combo from Fury misses. Fury lands up top as the round ends.
SB Nation scores the round 10-9 for Fury (68-65 Fury)
Round 8: Povetkin lands a body shot, and a big left is blocked. Right hand from Povetkin connects, and Fury misses a big right hand up top. Right hand to the body from Povetkin. More body shots from Povetkin. Big right hand up top for Povetkin while Fury is backing up.
SB Nation scores the round 10-9 for Povetkin (77-75 Fury)
Round 9: Now it’s Fury who looks like he’s fading. He’s initiating tie-ups and breathing heady. He shoots some jabs out, but Povetkin is wise to them now. Left hook from Povetkin misses, and a one-two from Fury also misses. Big left hook from Povetkin right on the chin of Fury. Then a flurry that puts Fury in the corner. There’s some blood around the left eye of Fury, who eats a right hand as the round ends.
SB Nation scores the round 10-9 for Povetkin (86-85 Fury)
Round 10: Right hook to the body from Fury, a punch he hasn’t thrown much and should probably throw a lot more. They tie up, both fighters breathing heavily. Fury tries some fancy footwork and avoids an uncorked right hook from Povetkin. Overhand right from Fury misses and the counter left from Povetkin grazes his chin. Fury doing a lot of backing up now, and dropping his hands. Povetkin still trying for the big right hand, but he’s telegraphing it.
SB Nation scores the round a draw (96-95 Fury)
Round 11: Big punches from Povetkin now, and Fury is on his back foot. Two big hooks from Povetkin to the body, and one up top. Fury paws the jab back out there, but he’s not even making contact with it. Fury is fighting like he knows he’s up on the cards. Stiff left hook from Povetkin. They tie up and not much happens in the final 10 seconds.
SB Nation scores the round 10-9 for Povetkin (105-105)
Round 12: The final round gets started with a whimper, with both guys coming forward and sort of getting into a mutual hug. Povetkin separates, ducks, and lands a stiff right hand on the jaw, but Fury walks through it. Right hand from Fury up top. They tie up again. Both guys are exhausted. Fury blocks a lunging left hand from Povetkin. Fury gets against the ropes and Povetkin starts throwing heavy shots. Fury is mostly blocking them, but they stil have to be doing some damage. Big left over the top from Povetkin grazes the top of Fury’s head. Fury jabs, ties up, and eats a short flurry from Povetkin as the round comes to an end.
SB Nation scores the round 10-9 for Povetkin (115-114 Povetkin)
We’ll have live round-by-round coverage of Saturday’s ESPN+ boxing main card, featuring a main event between Vasiliy Lomachenko and Luke Campbell for the WBA (Super), WBO and The Ring lightweight titles, as well as the vacant WBC lightweight strap.
The current round and fight will live at the top of this live blog, with past rounds and bouts below that, a list of full results, and all of our preview information from pre-fight.
Lomachenko vs. Campbell results
Vasiliy Lomachenko def. Luke Campbell via unanimous decision
Alexander Povetkin def. Hughie Fury via unanimous decision
Charlie Edwards vs. Julio Cesar Martinez ends in no contest due to late strike
Joshua Buatsi def. Ryan Ford via TKO
Joe Cordina def Gavin Gwynne via decision
James Tennyson def. Atif Shafiq via KO
Savannah Marshall def. Daniele Bastieri via TKO
Martin Joseph Ward def. Josue Bendana via TKO
Connor Coghill def. Dean Jones via decision
Vasiliy Lomachenko is trying to make his case as the top boxer in the world, and he’ll get an opportunity to add another major title to his collection when he faces Luke Campbell in the main event of an ESPN+ boxing card on Saturday. From The O2 Arena in London, Lomachenko will be putting up his WBA (Super), WBO and The Ring lightweight titles while also fighting for the vacant WBC lightweight belt against Campbell, a dangerous opponent.
Lomachenko, 31, only has 14 professional fights, but with a massive amateur career, he’s a seasoned veteran and perhaps the most dangerous draw in the lighter weight classes. With two Olympic gold medals and decisive wins over guy like Anthony Crolla, Jorge Linares and Guillermo Rigondeaux, Lomachenko’s lone career loss was in his second professional bout, a split decision loss to Orlando Salido back in 2014.
Campbell, also 31, is a British boxer who has also won an Olympic gold medal, and boasts a 22-2 record as a professional. His last loss was a split decision to Jorge Linares, the only common opponent between himself and Lomachenko. Campbell struggled with Linares, while Lomachenko stopped him with a liver punch late in their bout.
Campbell has won his last three bouts, two of which were TKO wins. He’ll be the home crowd favorite in what should be a sold out arena on Saturday, but Lomachenko is heavily favored.
Campbell’s length is what makes this fight interesting
Campbell’s path to victory is tough to see but that’s not due to his own lack of skill. He had a very successful amateur career and has won 16 of his 22 bouts via knockout. His height and range make his opponents underestimate his power, and he often catches them getting comfortable just outside the pocket.
Boxing is filled with lengthy fighters who don’t utilize the length as well as they should, but Campbell doesn’t fit that description. He has a large technical arsenal to compliment his physical attributes, unlike some of the more limited fighters Lomachenko has beaten in recent bouts.
Campbell is two inches taller and has a nearly six-inch reach advantage, and both boxers are southpaw, which generally lowers the effectiveness of both boxers. Campbell will need to frustrate Lomachenko, which is no easy task. He’s proven quite adept at doing this, jabbing from the outside
Lomachenko might be the most complete boxer in the world
The problem Campbell will have is even putting his hands on Lomachenko. He may have the reach and length, but Lomachenko’s footwork is on another level.
Closing the distance will be Lomachenko’s strength, and his goal will be to frustrate Campbell early and often. If he establishes within the first two rounds that playing the reach game simply isn’t going to lead to enough damage, he can goad Campbell into a close-range battle that Lomachenko will almost certainly win.
He can throw a punch from any angle and he can get back out of range well before his opponent can respond. There are no weaknesses in his game, and it’s likely Campbell will eventually be outclassed after a warming-up period between the two. Lomachenko hasn’t just beaten champions — he’s embarrassed them, and forced many of them to quit on their stools. He makes amazing boxers look bad.
SB Nation will have live round-by-round coverage and scoring of the two main card bouts, beginning at 4 p.m. ET, right here. Below, you can find all you need to know about Saturday’s action.
All Times Eastern
Lomachenko vs. Campbell information
Date: Saturday, Aug. 31
Location: The O2 Arena, London, England
Time: 1 p.m. Preliminary Undercard, 4 p.m. Main Card
TV: N/A
Online Streaming: ESPN+
Odds: Lomachenko -2500, Campbell +850 (opening, current odds at OddsShark)
Pick: Lomachenko, UD
Lomachenko vs. Campbell fight card
Main Card (4 p.m.)
Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. Luke Campbell
Hughie Fury vs. Alexander Povetkin
Preliminary Card (1 p.m.)
Charlie Edwards vs. Julio Cesar Martinez
Joshua Buatsi vs. Ryan Ford
Joe Cordina vs. Gavin Gwynne
James Tennyson vs. Atif Shafiq
Savannah Marshall vs. Daniele Bastieri
Dalton Smith vs. Daryl Pearce
Connor Coghill vs. Dean Jones