Some Forces Can't Be Contained

Date	December 11, 2021
Venue	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
Title(s) on the line	vacant WBO Inter-Continental lightweight title
Tale of the tape
Boxer Vasiliy Lomachenko Richard Commey Nickname "Loma" Hometown Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, Odesa Oblast, Ukraine Accra, Greater Accra, Ghana Pre-fight record 15–2 (11 KO) 30–3 (27 KO) Age 33 years, 9 months 34 years, 9 months Height 5 ft 7 in (170 cm) 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) Weight 134+2⁄5 lb (61 kg) 134+1⁄5 lb (61 kg) Style Southpaw Orthodox Recognition WBC/WBO/The Ring/TBRB No. 1 Ranked Lightweight WBA No. 3 Ranked Lightweight IBF No. 6 Ranked Lightweight The Ring No. 8 ranked pound-for-pound fighter 3-division world champion WBC/WBO No. 5 Ranked Lightweight IBF No. 7 Ranked Lightweight The Ring/TBRB No. 4 Ranked Lightweight Former lightweight champion
Result
Lomachenko wins via 12-round unanimous decision (117-110, 119-108, 119-108)

Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. Richard Commey, billed as Some Forces Can't Be Contained was a lightweight professional boxing match contested between former 3-division champion, Vasiliy Lomachenko, and former IBF lightweight champion, Richard Commey on December 11, 2021, at Madison Square Garden, in New York City, New York, U.S.^[1]

Both Lomachenko and Commey share a common loss with former unified lightweight champion, Teófimo López. Commey was knocked out by López in round two in their bout in 2019, losing the IBF lightweight title.^[2] Lomachenko lost his unified lightweight titles in an upset in 2020, losing by unanimous decision.^[3]

Lomachenko bounced back from his defeat to López, knocking out lightweight contender Masayoshi Nakatani in June 2021,^[4] and called López out for a rematch, claiming he "still wanted to become the undisputed champion" at lightweight.^[5]

Commey also bounced back from his defeat to López, knocking out Jackson Maríñez in round six in February 2021.^[6]

With both fighters looking for another shot at a world title, the pair agreed to face each other on December 11 in New York. The bout was aired live on ESPN in the US, and on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland.

Lomachenko won the bout by dominating a competent but unable-to-overcome Commey. Lomachenko was deemed winner by unanimous decision, all three fight judges giving him the contest by a considerable number of points.

After the bout when asked about fighting newly crowned unified lightweight champion, George Kambosos Jr., who had upset Teofimo Lopez a few weeks previously, Lomachenko jumped at the idea, stating that he 'needs this chance' and would be willing to fly to Australia if necessary.^[7] However, on 24 February 2022 Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine and Lomachenko returned to his home country to aid in the war effort. On 20 March, Lomachenko was given permission to leave Ukraine in order to face George Kambosos Jr. in Australia. However, he declined, opting to stay and fight for his country.^[8] Kambosos Jr. instead lost his titles to WBC champion Devin Haney, who thereby became the undisputed lightweight champion.^[9]

Confirmed bouts:^[10]

Country	Broadcaster
United Kingdom	Sky Sports[11]
United States	ESPN