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Vasiliy Lomachenko eliminated former title holder Anthony Crolla in the fourth round on Friday to retain his lightweight titles from the World Boxing Association and the World Boxing Organization.
Lomachenko, 31, delivered a devastating right hook to the temple, prompting the Englishman to crash first on the canvas after only 58 seconds.
The Ukrainian book-to-a-book king had all his arsenal, including a flamboyant hand speed, a devastating strike power and a superior IQ.
The knockout came just one lap after Lomachenko scored the first setback when he landed a right and left barrage while the challenger was helpless on the ropes.
Lomachenko, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, improved to 13-1 with 10 KOs as he dominated the third and fourth innings against Crolla, a huge outsider 100-1.
The crowd of more than 10,000 people at the Staples Center Arena came for a coup de grace and she had exactly that.
Crolla dropped to 34-7-3 when he hit only a few shots and only survived the third round because of the bell.
Crolla, 32, was not Lomachenko's first choice as an opponent. Lomachenko wanted to fight IBF champion Richard Commey, but Commey was injured in the hand.
If Lomachenko had not taken part in the fight against the Crollas, he would have been stripped of one of his belts.
Crolla, who was the most compelling candidate in the standings, held the WBA belt from 2015 to 2016.
After dismantling Crolla, Lomachenko called WBC Lightweight Champion Mikey Garcia.
But nothing tells us that Garcia, who pbaded the welterweight last month and suffered a loss of decision, will return to the limit of light weights.
"I want to fight with Mikey Garcia but we'll see, I do not know," Lomachenko said. "I [will] stay 135 longer, it is possible. I want to unify all the titles. "
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