DiBella: Don’t Know How Commey Fought Through 7 Round; Credit corner to know the fighter

NEW YORK – Lou DiBella has always praised Richard Commey’s courage.

Still, even Commey’s promoter was surprised when the former IBF lightweight champion made it through a tough seventh round on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden. Vasiliy Lomachenko took down Commey with his left hand straight in that round and used it all to take down the identified bottom team.

Commey took just a minute to enter the seventh inning. Lomachenko tried his best to finish off intrepid Ghanian, but Commey made it to the end of the seventh round, regained his composure, and turned the rest of their 12-round lightweight bout into a competitive one. painting.

Ukraine’s Lomachenko (16-2, 11 KOs) comfortably won on all three scorecards, but Commey redeemed himself against slick nampaw two years after then-invincible Teofimo Lopez stopped him in the second round. of the December 2019 IBF title fight, very much like the Madison Square Garden ring.

“I don’t know how he fought in the seventh round,” DiBella told BoxingScene.com. “And I appreciate him for knowing their fighters well, because he really had some of the best rounds after that. I think he got out of that round, but the way he came back and fought 8 to 12, it was a one sided fight, but the kind of fight you’ll remember.

“And the effort that Richie put in, I’m so proud of him, man, because it’s the effort of a true warrior. And Loma fought like a genius. He is an extremely skilled craftsman and technician. His footwork is remarkable. It was an excellent performance. And Loma got some real bombs [Saturday night]. It was a very, very good one-sided fight. “

Judges Eric Marlinski (119-108), Tom Schreck (119-108) and Tony Paolillo (117-110) gave Lomachenko a score of 10, 10 and nine, respectively. However, Commey (30-4, 27 KOs) won versus lost, in that the 34-year-old showed incredible toughness against a senior opponent and delivered more punches to the three-tournament champion. most of his earlier conquests. .

Lomachenko landed a short, straight left arm that sent Commey back with 1:58 to advance in the seventh inning. Commey stunned to his feet before referee Steve Willis counted to 10.

Commey still doesn’t have his legs, which prompts Lomachenko to turn to Commey’s coaches, Andre Rozier and Gary Stark, and ask them to stop the fight. They ignored Lomachenko’s concerns, which allowed Commey to return to test Lomachenko after withstanding Lomachenko’s onslaught for the remainder of the seventh inning.

“It was a really fun fight,” said DiBella. “It was a good, decisive victory [for Lomachenko], but it’s a huge show of heart and courage and bravery and effort, man. I mean, Commey doesn’t stop throwing, doesn’t stop coming. I was impressed with what he did during a very difficult loss. You know, I thought he showed himself as the fighter we all know what he is.”

Keith Idec is a writer/senior columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.