HBO World Championship Boxing Bradley vs. Rios is in the books - take a look at the results and fight highlights here:
Timothy Bradley def. Brandon Rios - KO, R9, 2:49
The big talk heading into the main event was about Timothy Bradley's new coaching work with Teddy Atlas. The question was, would Atlas reign in some of Bradley's more wild tendencies, and bring him success by getting him back to the technical boxer he once was? The answer: yes, he brought success, undeniably. Bradley looked absolutely fantastic tonight, using his superior speed and footwork to control the fight. He outlanded Rios, and aside from a few moments in the early rounds when he became too willing to engage in an inside phone-booth style battle, he was never in trouble despite facing the harder hitting, significantly heavier Rios. Bradley piled up the shots, and in round 9, landed body shots to put Rios down and end the fight - that's Bradley's first stoppage since 2011, and the first time Rios has ever been stopped.
As to the question of style, that one is a bit more complicated. No doubt Bradley had more technique than we saw in some of his recent wild brawls, but he still was getting drawn into that firefight at times. It will be interesting to see how this Atlas/Bradley pairing pays off down the road.
Post-fight, Brandon Rios unexpectedly announced his retirement from boxing, saying that the time had come to hang up his gloves.
Vasyl Lomachenko def. Romulo Koasicha - KO, R10, 2:35
In the HBO opener, technical ace Vasyl Lomachenko stepped in and completely dominated Romulo Koasicha. Two time Olympic gold medalist Lomachenko has demonstrated that he is something special in his short, but spectacular, professional career, and this fight was no different. Using some of the best footwork and headwork you are going to see in any combat sport today, Lomachenko expertly evaded virtually all of Koasicha's offense, all while landing his own. At no point was Koasicha a threat, and the only question was if Lomachenko could be the first man to stop him. In round 10, he landed a nice shot to the body, Koasicha went down, and decided he had had enough. And who can blame him? Great showing from Lomachenko once again.
Highlights (Gifs courtesy of ZombieProphet):
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