On Saturday night at the StubHub Center in Carson, California – Vasyl Lomachenko (2-1, 1KO) captured the vacant WBO featherweight crown with twelve round majority decision over previously undefeated Gary Russell Jr. (24-1, 14KOs).
After the fight was over, the post-fight celebrations by Team Lomachenko were hit with a black cloud when ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr. announced that all three judges had rendered a majority decision. When the score of 114-114 was announced first, there was some nervous energy in the ring for Lomachenko and his camp members.
"After the fight of [Ruslan] Provodnikov [against Chris Algieri], I got a little nervous of course when I heard it was even, 114-114," said Lomachenko’s manager Egis Klimas.?
But when Lennon announced that the other two judges had it 116-112 for Lomachenko, the correct fighter?was awarded the vacant title.
"The fact that it was 114-114 is absolutley absurd and it just shows that yes we got it the way it should have been, but that you know what – it was still f***ed up that it was that score," said Carl Morretti, VP of Boxing Operations for Top Rank, when speaking with BoxingScene.com.
