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Ant Crolla is a former world champion. Although there are far too many boxing champions nowadays, he has proven in these fights for the title that he is a competent and solid professional.
He looked at something other than Friday at Staples Center in his bid for WBA and WBO lightweight titles against Vasiliy Lomachenko.
The Ukrainian star has shown why many consider him the best boxer in the world in a dominant fourth round stoppage of Crolla. Lomachenko cracked Crolla, who was already bleeding from the nose and mouth, with a right right hand and followed quickly with a right hook blistering.
The ball landed just above Crolla's left ear and sent his face back to the canvas. Referee Jack Reiss crouched to count, but took a look at Crolla and immediately dismissed him. The time of arrival was 58 seconds.
It is not expected to be a competitive fight, not with Lomachenko favored by an absurd 80-1 in some sports betting. But it is also fair to ask who, from featherweight to light weight, would be competitive with Lomachenko. The short answer is that there is not much.
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "The fight to fight is a counter & nbsp;Mikey Garcia, who suffered his first loss last month in a welterweight title bout against Errol Spence Jr.& nbsp; But Garcia's natural weight is light and a match against Lomachenko remains Ukraine's best bet for a big fight. "Data-reactid =" 29 "> The fight is against Mikey Garcia, who suffered his first loss last month in a welterweight title fight with Errol Spence Jr. But Garcia's natural weight is light and a match with Lomachenko remains the best bet of Ukraine for a big fight.
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "" I would like to fight with Mikey Garcia, "& Nbsp;Lomachenko said, but the boxing policy makes it a difficult fight to put in place. Lomachenko is promoted by Top Rank and is fighting on ESPN, while Garcia is fighting for the premier boxing champions created by Al Haymon. Data-reactid = "30"> "I'd like to fight with Mikey Garcia," Lomachenko said, but the boxing policy makes it a difficult fight to put in place. Lomachenko is promoted by Top Rank and is fighting on ESPN, while Garcia is fighting for the Premier Boxing Champions created by Al Haymon.
Top Rank and Haymon have not been able to do business regularly and easily, and these interviews should not change this trend.
If they can not organize a fight against Garcia, the fans will have to agree to see one of the world's elite fighters compete with fighters who do not compare to his equal.
He is likely to face IBF lightweight champion Richard Commey, but the fight is not expected to end differently than Crolla's on Friday. Teofimo Lopez, the budding star, is the only possible opponent.
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "Lopez is 21 years old and will face Edis Tatli in April 20 at Madison Square Garden on the pay-per-view undercard starring Terence Crawford vs. Amir Khan in the main event. & Nbsp;Lopez has a score of 12-0 and has been the sports hope of the year Yahoo data-reactid = "34"> Lopez is 21 years old and will face Edis Tatli on April 20th at Madison Square Garden on the undercard a la carte featuring Terence Crawford against Amir. Khan in the main event: Lopez is 12-0 and was the prospect of Yahoo Sports of the Year in 2017 and 2018 and looks like a future star.
The question is whether he is ready for a mature and experienced elite opponent like Lomachenko at this stage of his development.
Crolla, a former WBA champion who took part in the fight with as many knockouts (13) as Lomachenko did not have any fights to play, was certainly not ready. He had neither the speed of the hand nor the footwork needed to face Lomachenko, who took the first turn to study it.
When the second began, Lomachenko began to cling to the body and find ways to get past Crolla. It was only a matter of time when Lomachenko began to let go of his hands.
He dropped Crolla late in the third and the bell saved the Briton. But he had nowhere to hide in the fourth and Lomachenko abruptly ended it.
"My pride is more hurt than my body because I wanted to do my best, but it's just phenomenal," Crolla said. "I knew where I was when the shot hit me on the head, but I just could not get up. I wanted to go out on my shield, but the shot caught me high and stole my senses.
"He is very special. He does not lose a ball. He will continue to dominate and do what he wants to do in the sport. "
But for Lomachenko to really become a superstar, he must have a worthy rival. Whether it's Garcia, Lopez or someone else, it would be good for everyone involved, including Lomachenko, if he showed up soon.
Otherwise, get used to these unilateral beats.
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "More from Yahoo Sports:"data-reactid =" 43 ">More from Yahoo Sports:
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