Three-weight kingpin Vasiliy “Loma” Lomachenko, the Ukrainian virtuoso who saves his greatest for the New York Metropolis highlight, hopes his subsequent outsized problem will not be a bridge too far. Lomachenko returns to Madison Sq. Backyard on Saturday, Dec. 11 for a 12-round light-weight showdown towards former world champion Richard “RC” Commey.
Lomachenko-Commey marks boxing’s return to the “Large Room” at Madison Sq. Backyard for the primary time in almost two years, when Terence Crawford defended his welterweight title with a riveting knockout over Egidijus “Imply Machine” Kavaliauskas. Within the 10-round co-feature, undefeated heavyweight sensation Jared “The Actual Large Child” Anderson will battle Oleksandr Teslenko.
Lomachenko-Commey and Anderson-Teslenko will air live on ESPN and ESPN Deportes (simulcast on ESPN+) at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT following the 2021 Heisman Ceremony. Puerto Rican junior middleweight standout Xander Zayas and middleweight prospect Nico Ali Walsh, grandson of Muhammad Ali, can even see motion on this particular New York Metropolis battle evening.
Promoted by High Rank, in affiliation with DiBella Leisure, tickets beginning at $56 go on sale, Tuesday, Nov. 2 at 12 p.m. ET and will be bought by visiting Ticketmaster.com or MSG.com.
“It’s only becoming that the nice Lomachenko headlines boxing’s extremely anticipated return to Madison Sq. Backyard. Nevertheless, Richard Commey can by no means be counted out, as he’s a troublesome fighter who carries large energy in each palms,” stated High Rank chairman Bob Arum. “Jared Anderson is a future heavyweight champion, however I count on Teslenko to be his hardest problem thus far. I can also’t wait to see what Xander and Nico do subsequent, as they’re two of probably the most charismatic and thrilling younger fighters within the sport.”
Lomachenko (15-2, 11 KOs) has authored a lot of his most memorable moments below the MSG lights. He’s fought 3 times on the adjoining Hulu Theater at Madison Sq. Backyard, knocking out Roman Martinez in 2016 to change into a two-weight world champion, forcing fellow two-time Olympic gold medalist Guillermo Rigondeaux to give up in 2017, and unifying light-weight world titles in December 2018 with a unanimous determination over Jose Pedraza. Lomachenko had a memorable bout towards Jorge Linares at Madison Sq. Backyard in Might 2018, changing into a three-weight world champion when he knocked out the Venezuelan star the tenth spherical with a physique shot. He bounced again from his 2020 undisputed light-weight title defeat to Teofimo Lopez with June’s ninth-round stoppage over Japanese stalwart Masayoshi Nakatani.
Lomachenko stated, “It’s all the time particular once I battle at Madison Sq. Backyard, the place so many nice moments in my profession have taken place. Richard Commey is a former world champion, an opponent I can’t underestimate. I count on the most effective model of Commey, and I shall be ready for no matter he brings on December 11.”
As has change into his light-weight customized, Lomachenko will enter the ring because the smaller man. Commey (30-3, 27 KOs) has an almost two-inch peak benefit and 5.5 inches in attain. The New York Metropolis resident held the IBF light-weight world title in 2019, however in December of that yr, he was stopped in two rounds by Lopez at Madison Sq. Backyard. Commey took almost 14 months off, returning in February to knock out Jackson Marinez in six rounds. One of many division’s most harmful punchers, his different two losses have come through cut up determination to Robert Easter Jr. and Denis Shafikov. The winner of this battle turns into a logical world title challenger in 2022.
Commey stated, “I need to thank my staff of Michael Amoo-Bediako, Lou DiBella, and Keith Connolly for getting me this chance. Ever for the reason that Lopez battle, all I’ve considered is changing into a two-time world champion. This battle towards Lomachenko will get me one step nearer to my purpose. I additionally need to thank Bob Arum and High Rank for the chance to once more grace the stage at Madison Sq. Backyard, one in all boxing’s most iconic venues. I do know that most individuals think about me the underdog, however I’m aiming to show all of them mistaken and make Ghana proud as soon as once more.”
Anderson (10-0, 10 KOs), from Toledo, Ohio, rose to prominence because of his highlight-reel knockouts and standing as heavyweight champion Tyson Fury’s most trusted sparring companion. He has scored three knockouts in 2021 and had his most high-profile task Oct. 9 on the Fury-Deontay Wilder III PPV undercard. Anderson opened the PPV telecast with a second-round blitzing over the beforehand undefeated Vladimir Tereshkin. Teslenko (17-1, 13 KOs), a 6’4, 220-pound prospect from Ukraine, constructed a 16-0 file earlier than being knocked out in 5 rounds by Shawndell Winters in December 2019. He rebounded in high quality type, knocking out Cesar David Crenz in three rounds in June 2021.
Anderson stated, “I’ve made my mark in Las Vegas over the past two years and now it’s time to steal the present in my Madison Sq. Backyard debut on December 11. The Mecca of Boxing holds a lot historical past, and I can’t wait so as to add my title to listing of legends who’ve fought there.”
Zayas (11-0, 8 KOs) can wrap up the 2021 Prospect of the 12 months award with a formidable displaying at Madison Sq. Backyard. The San Juan native is 5-0 in 2021, most lately knocking out Dan Karpency in 4 rounds on the Jamel Herring-Shakur Stevenson card Oct. 23 in Atlanta.
Ali Walsh (2-0, 2 KOs) turned professional Aug. 14 with a first-round knockout and makes his debut within the constructing the place his grandfather fought a few of his most legendary fights, together with “The Struggle of the Century” towards Joe Frazier in 1971 and the 1974 Frazier rematch. Ali Walsh shined alongside Zayas in Atlanta, notching a third-round stoppage over James Westley II.
With a purpose to attend the occasion, all company age 12 and older are required to offer proof of COVID-19 vaccination (this implies having a minimum of one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine previous to attending). MSG’s complete COVID-19 tips, together with these relating to kids below 12, will be discovered at https://www.msg.com/madison-square-garden/faqs.
