Vasily Lomachenko verified predictions that he would have beaten former Ghanaian champion Richard Kami in the seventh round, defeating him by a wide unanimous decision at the legendary Madison Square Garden.
The Ukrainians immediately summoned Australian Jorge Campos, who eliminated Diofimo Lopez as the undisputed lightweight champion.
Lomachenko (16-2, 11 KO) dropped a left-handed missile in the face of Kami (30-4, 27 KO) to send him to the canvas in the seventh inning, and looked at him in poor condition when he rejoined. In the corner of Ghana where the fight stopped, he lost valuable seconds and led the way to finish it by knockout. He hurt him again, and again he said to throw the piece, but they did not, and again he missed the knockout.
At the end of an entertaining battle, Lomachenko picked up two cards, 119-108 and 117-110, to win the title between the continents recognized by the World Boxing Organization. A world championship is in his possession.
After the match, three-time champion Lomachenko said he had no problem going to Australia to challenge Cambodia until he was given the opportunity to compete in the undisputed lightweight championship, which will be his biggest task for the next 2022.
Lomachenko, 33, was the lightweight champion until he lost to Lopez in October 2020. After recovering from a shoulder injury that required surgery, Lomachenko returned with a dominant ninth-round TKO in June to defeat Masayoshi Nakadani.