Vasyl Lomachenko KOs Rocky Martinez

Vasyl Lomachenko photo by Getty Images

Vasyl “Hi-Tech” Lomachenko scored a spectacular fifth-round knockout of Roman “Rocky” Martinez and Felix “El Diamante” Verdejo stopped Juan Jose Martinez in the fifth round Saturday night on HBO at The Theater at Madison Square Garden.

Moving up from featherweight, where he was ranked second, Lomachenko (6-1, 4 KOs) systematically broke down seventh-ranked junior lightweight contender Roman Martinez (29-3-3, 17 KOs) of Puerto Rico. The Ukrainian fought with precision before scoring a vicious knockout in the fifth round that will likely be in the discussion for Knockout of the Year.

Lomachenko and Martinez spent most of the first round feeling each other out, but it did not take long for The Ukrainian’s class to show itself. He was able to stand in the pocket and land seemingly at will while simultaneously evading most of Martinez’s punches. Lomachenko’s pinpoint accuracy, unique punching angles, superb footwork and blazing hand speed gave Martinez problems the entire fight.

Lomachenko, a two-time Olympic gold medalist who compiled a 396-1 record as an amateur, used slick footwork to step around Martinez and land blistering combinations from the side. He popped the jab constantly in Martinez’s face and landed punishing body shots when in front of him to keep him off balance. Lomachenko slipped in lead left hands or uppercuts periodically to vary his attack and befuddle Martinez.

In the opening minute of the fifth round, Lomachenko backed Martinez towards the ropes with two hard left hands that hurt him and ended the fight seconds later with a devastating left uppercut-right hook combination to the chin that put Martinez flat on his back. A bewildered Martinez could not get to his feet and referee Danny Schiavone counted him out at the 1:09 mark.

After the fight, Lomachenko challenged all the top fighters at 130 lbs.

“The reason I like Olympic boxing is that all the best fighters come together and find out who the best fighter is,” said Lomachenko. “I want to do the same in professional boxing. I want to line up all the best fighters at 130 and see who the best fighter is.”

He specifically called out second-ranked junior lightweight Orlando Salido (43-13-4, 30 KOs), who handed Lomachenko his only loss in his second professional fight back in March of 2014.

Salido, who was ringside at The Garden, fought to a scintillating draw with top-ranked junior lightweight Francisco Vargas (23-0-2, 17 KOs) on June 4 in an all-Mexican brawl that is the current leader in the clubhouse for Fight of the Year.

“Hey Salido, I’m ready to fight you at any time,” Lomachenko said. “Before the Vargas fight, I told him to win the fight but I never told him I wasn’t going to fight him if he didn’t, so let’s do it.”

“I really already forgot about this loss. It was a great experience for me and it made me a better fighter. I want to revenge Salido for my fans and give them a win over him.”

For his efforts, Lomachenko enters the junior lightweight top ten at #4 while Martinez drops two spots from his #7 perch to #9 in this week’s Transnational Boxing Rankings.

In the opening bout of the telecast, much ballyhooed lightweight prospect Felix Verdejo (22-0, 15 KOs) remained unbeaten as he stopped Mexico’s Juan Jose Martinez (25-3, 17 KOs) in the fifth round in front of a partisan crowd on the eve of the Puerto Rican Day parade in New York City.

Verdejo is seen by many as the heir apparent to Miguel Cotto as Puerto Rico’s next boxing superstar, and often draws comparisons to another Puerto Rican great, Hall of Famer Felix “Tito” Trinidad. But Verdejo had been criticized recently for his inability to put away inferior opposition in his last two fights.

Making his third appearance on HBO, Verdejo was much quicker fighter in foot and hand speed. He silenced the critics for the time being by dominating the over-matched Martinez with crisp combinations to the head and body throughout the fight.

The fight played out much the same way as a matador and a bull, with Verdejo keeping Martinez at bay with effective lateral movement, a snapping jab and sweeping right hand counter shots that repeatedly landed flush on his aggressive opponent.

Verdejo was able to put away Martinez in the fifth round, staggering him with a massive overhand right with 40 seconds left in the round, then following it up with a barrage of punches until referee Mike Ortega had seen enough. Ortega waved the fight off at the 2:40 mark to save the bloodied and battered Martinez from accumulating any more punishment, since it was clear he stood no chance of winning.

“My career depended on this fight and I knew that, but we trained with lots of dedication for this fight,” Verdejo said through a translator. “I came to give it my all in the ring.”

“I lost focus [in recent fights] with distractions that every man has,” Verdejo said. “I lost focus but we are refocusing now in my career. I want to fight the best of them and that’s all I want.”