LOMACHENKO CHOPS DOWN WALTERS VIA TKO AT END OF 7TH IN TOP RANK’S 2000TH SHOW FROM COSMOPOLITAN IN VEGAS

The main event of the evening featured former Olympian, Vasyl Lomachenko (7-1), of the Ukraine putting his WBO belt on the line against previously undefeated, Nicholas ‘Axe Man’ Walters (20-1), of Jamaica in a 12-round championship bout for the WBO Super Featherweight title.

The first couple of rounds were a chess match as neither man really dug into his bag of tricks but jabbed and feinted his way in and out of the pocket, looking for that perfect opening as they stood in the center of the ring. The pair of high-caliber fighters were really looking to set up something big but respected the other man’s power so they spent the bulk of the first 6 minutes trying to counter. There was rarely a clinch as they both operated just outside of range but, as of the 3rd Round Lomachenko’s speed and angles put his foe in a box. What really punctuated his dominance was Lomachenko’s lighting fast jab which pierced his opponent and he then darted out of the pocket making Walters hit air. In Round 4 the Ukraine native jabbed his way in then threw a right hand over the top that landed flush and if needed put together a 4-punch combination to assert himself while Walters covered up and launched an uppercut that missed wide on various instances.

Heading into the 5th Round, Lomachenko had figured out his man completely. It was a thing of beauty to watch him slide in and out of the pocket as if he were on roller skates. The Ukraine belt holder popped his man with a crisp jab or hard left hook downstairs then ‎tied him up or used his masterful footwork to make the Jamaican miss wider and wider as the minutes passed. The champion perfected the approach further in the 6th Round; head feint-head feint and a step in jab or a lightning quick hook to the body put Walters in a hole that he could just not dig himself out of. Ringside Jesse Magdaleno’s was telling us in media, ‘he’s in his head guys. He is in his head’, referring to how Lomachenko was running away with the score cards and Walters had absolutely no answer be it physically or mentally. To his credit, ‘The Axe Man’ momentarily chopped away at his foe’s body once and landed a good right hand towards the end of Round 6 but, it was not enough. Lomachenko seemed to be having fun at this point and willingly traded along the ropes in the 7th Round, banging away at his man via combos and Walters doing his best but coming up short to land something significant.

In the end, Lomachenko’s footwork and ability to keep his man frustrated plus land almost at will took his toll on Walters to the point that he did not want to answer the bell to start Round 8. He shook his head and snapped at his trainer while Tony Weeks waived his hands in the air indicating the TKO stoppage at the end of Round 7.

The loss becomes Nicholas Walters first of his professional career and he now will look to regroup and come in with a clean state in 2017. Maybe the almost year-long layoff did him in affecting his performance. As for Vasyl Lomachenko, he banks another masterful performance this time via another stoppage as he continues to climb the Pound for Pound rankings in a blaze.

Konstantin Ponomarev (31-0) vs. Silverio Ortiz (35-19)

Welterweight Bout – 8 Rounds

Ponomarev and Ortiz took care of the co-main event duties from inside The Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan casino and hotel in Las Vegas in a 147-pound duel. The Russian got off to a great start early by walking his man down, using his height and reach and jabbing his way into his man’s chest. Late in the opening round he pinned him along the ropes and buried his head in his foe’s chest before launching a body assault via left and right hooks. Ponomarev kept the pressure up in Round 2 as ‘Chamaco’ Ortiz looked to counter with his left hook. The Mexican fighter found a bit of success slipping his man’s offense in the middle of the 2nd Round behind upper body movement but not enough to completely be in the clear. However, in Round 3 he applied the same approach and this time got caught pulling away with his hands down as Ponomarev used  counters of his via looping rights and a leaping left hook or two to catch him. The Abel Sanchez trained boxer kept coming forward in the next few rounds, leaning in, putting up his version of a Winky Wright defense before getting in on the inside and ripping away at his man’s body. A few counter right hands landed along the way for Ortiz, but not enough to sway the judges that he had taken any round after the 3rd.

For the few moments of success that Ortiz had in rounds 4 and 5 using his counter hooks and by timing his opponent, Ortiz amazingly gave the stanzas away by willingly walking backwards into the ropes as the minutes trickled away. Ponomarev busted him up with clean 1-2s then some short hooks to the body switching from head to body, and body to head. The undefeated Russian kept up this approach all the way into the last two rounds, bringing the fans into the battle by standing in the middle of the ring and trading heavy leather with Ortiz to the their delight but still landing crisp and clean straight jabs and body punches along the way.

RESULTS: ‎Konstantin Ponomarev remains unbeaten by defeating Silverio Ortiz via Unanimous Decision with scores all across the board of 80-72 .