"A very rude judicial decision": how experts evaluated the fight between Lomachenko and Lopez

One of the main events in October in the world of boxing was the fight between Vasily Lomachenko and Teofimo Lopez for the WBC, WBA and WBO lightweight titles.

One of the leaders of the pound-for-pound rating (regardless of weight categories) was considered the clear favorite, but unexpectedly suffered a defeat.

The fight lasted all 12 rounds, following which the victory was unanimously given to the 23-year-old American.

Lomachenko approached the fight with Lopez in the status of one of the greatest boxers of our time.

The Ukrainian won 396 out of 397 amateur fights, won two gold medals at the Olympic Games, and after becoming a professional became a champion in three weight categories.

After a sensational defeat against Orlando Salido in 2014, he won 13 consecutive victories and eventually ascended to the lightweight throne.

Yes, Lopez could not be called a passing opponent, but Lomachenko was the one who preferred.

Moreover, both bookmakers and famous representatives of the world of martial arts.

Konstantin Tszyu and Sergey Kovalev expressed confidence that Vasily would easily defeat Teofimo, and Nikolai Valuev, although he was more restrained in his forecasts, still considered the Ukrainian a favorite.

However, by the middle of the battle, it became clear that Lopez could well surprise the experts and create a sensation.

Lomachenko looked rather passive in the first three rounds and outright conceded them.

So, in the first nine minutes, he struck with only eight accurate strikes, while the counterpart was marked by 28 hits.

Teofimo acted as the first number and constantly pressed Vasily, working both on the head and on the body of the champion.

It was especially dangerous in those moments when the Ukrainian pressed his back against the ropes and was forced to take on a barrage of attacks.

The next four rounds passed in a similar manner, but Lomachenko began to act more actively and hit much more.

Unlike the challenger, he tried to work for quality, not quantity, which is why his hit rate rose sharply (over 53%).

For comparison, only once Lopez had more than a quarter of his hits on the target, and usually even less hit his opponent (15%).

Nevertheless, although the first half of the fight did not go entirely under the dictation of Lopez, it did not leave the best impression of Lomachenko's performance.

The real champion only got involved in the eighth round.

The Ukrainian raised the pace, brought the number of hits to 20 on average per round and had a high-level ending.

The only exception can be called perhaps the final three minutes, during which Teofimo again rushed forward and marked 50 hits.

At first glance, the statistics of the fight indicate the complete domination of Lopez, but in fact this is not entirely true.

Yes, Lomachenko threw out only 321 hits, which is 338 less than his counterpart.

But Vasily was much more accurate, as evidenced by the difference in the number of hits (141 - 183).

Considering that almost the entire second half of the battle remained with the Ukrainian, and from the fourth to the seventh round there was a completely equal fight, the champion could well count on at least a draw.

But the judges decided otherwise and unanimously gave preference to Teofimo.

At the same time, Julie Lederman saw his superiority in all segments, except for the 11th (119 - 109).

Lomachenko, although he was quite calm about the second defeat in his career, did not agree with the decision of the judges.

“I don’t know, it seemed to me that the first half of the fight was equal.

Perhaps somewhere he won one or two more rounds, but in the second I got involved.

I think I took her.

I want to come home, review the fight, but I do not agree with the decision of the judges.

I thought I won, but the result is the result.

I'll talk with my promoter, manager and make a decision, ”Lomachenko said in an interview with ESPN.

At the end of the fight, opinions were divided.

Many considered Lopez's triumph to be logical, but a number of experts did not agree with the official decision.

So, the general secretary of the Russian Boxing Federation Umar Kremlev admitted that he was disappointed with the referees' verdict and expressed the opinion that Lomachenko took over.

“Personally, my opinion is very sad when judged like that.

It was evident that Vasily won.

You don't have to live the American dream, you have to achieve your goal.

There you have to win ahead of time, a very rude judicial decision, "TASS quotes Kremlin.

According to the functionary, Lomachenko does not make sense to appeal the outcome of the battle, because in professional boxing, decisions of judges are not reviewed.

“We must prepare for revenge.

It reminded me of the fight between Golovkin and Alvarez.

Vasily still has everything ahead, but in revenge, if not ahead of schedule, it will be difficult to win.

Very sad refereeing, very upset, "- concluded the Kremlin.

Former WBA middleweight champion Alexander Besputin agreed with him.

He harshly criticized the work of the judges and said that Lomachenko was unfairly stripped of his titles.

“For me, Lomachenko won the fight.

I thought the judge was not feeling well.

Apparently, he had not a fight in front of his eyes, but a veil.

Of course, this is a robbery, ”Besputin said.

Alexei Vasiliev was a little more restrained.

The manager of the former heavyweight champion Murat Gassieva expressed the opinion that Lopez performed well in the title fight, but his advantage was not overwhelming.

“I agree that Lopez deserved to win, but I disagree with the decision of the judges.

Some judges gave Lopez the victory with a big advantage - I disagree with that.

I was rooting for Lomachenko, the draw result was closer to me, but I understand that Lopez did not lose, but rather won, "Sport-Express quotes Vasiliev.

Lomachenko was also supported abroad.

The world champion in three weight categories, Terence Crawford, although he congratulated Lopez on the victory, called the referee's verdict "disrespectful" towards the Ukrainian.

Well-known trainer and analyst Teddy Atlas agreed with him.

He supported Vasily and accused Lederman of looking at the phone during the fight.

“Excellent fight performed by both fighters.

Hats off to Lopez.

But, please, where did the judges get such a score?

Once again, I have nothing against Lopez's victory, he deserved it.

But Loma didn’t deserve to hear that the point difference is so big, ”Atlas wrote on Twitter.

It should be noted that in recent years, fighters from the post-Soviet space have repeatedly suffered from not the most unambiguous referee decisions during their performances abroad.

Suffice it to recall two fights between Sergei Kovalev and Andre Ward.

The first of them turned out to be extremely equal, but the victory was given to the American.

And in the second, the referee in the ring did not notice how he inflicted several prohibited blows in the groin of the Russian.

Gennady Golovkin was also injured.

The reason for the discontent of the Kazakhstani was the controversial verdict in the first duel with Saul Alvarez.

At that time, the reigning middleweight champion significantly surpassed his opponent in key aspects, but the result of the fight was a draw.

However, especially surprising was Adelaide Bird's decision to give the Mexican ten rounds out of 12.

Subsequently, the refereeing in the rematch was not the most unambiguous.

Yes, Canelo looked much more impressive and could count on success, but Golovkin also performed more than successfully.

However, two of the three referees preferred the Mexican.