By: Hans Themistode
The United Kingdom was once the home for big time fights for former unified Heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua. It’s been quite sometime since he has given them a show.
Pound for pound king Vasiliy Lomachenko gave the UK crowd exactly what they wanted to see as he and Luke Campbell put on a great performance in the main event.
It wasn’t just the main event that garnered the appreciation of the fans but so did the co-main event as Hughie Fury and Alexander Povetkin through heavy leather at one another. It was a night filled with great fights that was punctuated with these two fights at the top of the billing that was provided on ESPN+.
Vasiliy Lomachenko vs Luke Campbell
Vasiliy Lomachenko added yet another belt to his overflowing mantle. The O2 Arena played host to both Luke Campbell and Lomachenko’s contest on August 31.
With Campbell winning gold in the 2012 olympics, he had the pedigree to challenge the three weight world champion and two time gold medalist in Lomachenko.
Feeling out the opponent is usually the name of the game when a fight begins. Lomachenko on the other hand decided to skip that process as he started off fast. He landed several shots which snapped back the head of Campbell. Not to be outdone, Campbell found his own success using his much longer reach and combinations.
The middle portion of the fight was all Lomachenko as he started to impose his will. Round six saw Campbell hurt but he showed no quit in him as he landed his own shots which visibly buzzed Lomachenko. Already having the fight in the bag, that didn’t stop Lomachenko from turning up the pressure. Round 11 was his best yet as he sent Campbell down to the mat. It’s anyone’s guess as to how he managed to make it out of that round but it was clear that Lomachenko was going in for the kill.
The twelfth and final round saw Lomachenko hit Campbell with everything. The heart of Campbell can’t be praised enough as he made it to the final bell. It was a great effort by Campbell but the scorecards told just how dominant Lomachenko was. Two scores of 119-108 and 118-109 were the official scores.
With the win, Lomachenko now has three of the four belts remaining in the Lightweight division. He’ll have his eyes set on the winner between Richard Commey and Teofimo Lopez which is set to take place in December.
Hughie Fury vs Alexander Povetkin
It isn’t easy living in the shadows of the Heavyweight division. It becomes ever more difficult when those shadows are cast by your own flesh and blood.
Hughie has always been known as the other Fury. His cousin, Lineal champion Tyson Fury is known for his win over Wladimir Klitschko. His great performance against WBC champion Deontay Wilder, a contest that should have been ruled in Tyson’s favor and his loud personality outside of the ring.
Hughie Fury isn’t known for any of that. He isn’t known at all. Tonight was his night to change all of that as he took on former title challenger Alexander Povetkin.
Fury couldn’t have asked for a better start to the contest as Povetkin ate jabs to the face for the first three rounds. Seemingly finding his groove in the fourth, Povetkin began to turn things around as the long looping left hands that failed to connect time and time again finally found its mark.
Realizing that Fury wanted to make this a boxing match by using his height and reach advantages to box to a granular paced decision, Povetkin turned it into a dog fight. Burying his head right into the chest of Fury in order to make it a much uglier fight.
Over the last few rounds it seemed as though Fury forgot what made him so successful in the beginning. No longer was he trying to keep things on the outside. He seemed more then willing to fight the sort of fight Povetkin wanted. In the end, it cost him.
All three judges scoring the contest had it 117-111 in favor of Povetkin. The right man won the bout, but the wide scorecards were hard to understand. Regardless of the unrealistic scorecards, Fury picked up the third loss of his career.
Tonight was his chance to step out from the shadows of his cousin, Lineal Heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. With this defeat, Hughie is sure to be known as just the other Fury.