LOS ANGELES — Although Vasyl Lomachenko had battered Miguel Marriaga around the ring for 6 1/2 superlative rounds, the Ukrainian star couldn’t break his Colombian opponent’s will until he landed a body punch that told him the end was finally near.
“I hear his ‘Ughhhhh,’ and then I punch the body (again),” Lomachenko said with a smile.
Marriaga’s corner stopped the bout after seven rounds Saturday night, and Lomachenko defended his WBO 130-pound title for the third time in nine months.
Lomachenko (9-1, 7 KOs), the two-time Olympic gold medalist, showcased his virtuosic technical skill and athletic prowess in another one-sided victory. He knocked down Marriaga (25-3) in the third round and systematically took control with precise punching and graceful footwork in the ensuing rounds.
Lomachenko floored Marriaga again in the waning seconds of the seventh, and the challenger’s corner had finally seen enough.
“It was very hard to open his defense,” Lomachenko said. “He was always looking down. I was happy when I finally got it.”
Ray Beltran also fought through two cuts to squeak out a majority decision over Bryan Vasquez before a lively crowd of 4,102 at the downtown Microsoft Theater.
The main event was another showcase for Lomachenko, whose superior abilities have made him a favorite of knowledgeable fight fans ever since his amateur career. Given a U.S. showcase on ESPN, he put on a show in breaking down Marriaga with skill and violence.
Lomachenko started to land big shots in the second round, and he sent Marriaga sprawling backward onto the canvas with a straight left hand in the third. He also put on a show, backing into a neutral corner and confidently beckoning Marriaga toward him with a flair that recalled his similar gesture to Russian amateur world champion Albert Selimov in his dynamite first fight at the Beijing Olympics.
“Unlike most fighters, he realizes that professional boxing is part sport and part entertainment,” promoter Bob Arum said. “He entertains when he fights, and I think the public likes it. Who else did it like that? Muhammad Ali.”
A clash of heads left a cut near Lomachenko’s left eye in the fourth, but the champion shrugged it off and kept slugging. He hurt Marriaga noticeably in the fifth and sixth rounds, and Marriaga finally couldn’t keep his feet.
“For one round, I could just see out of one eye,” Lomachenko said. “Other than that, I did everything by the plan.”
Lomachenko became the greatest amateur boxer of his generation with a 396-1 record and gold medal victories in Beijing and London.