Tag Archives: Richard Commey

Posted on 12/11/2021

By: Hans Themistode

Despite suffering defeat at the hands of Teofimo Lopez in October of 2020 and forfeiting his IBF, WBA, and WBC franchise lightweight titles, Vasiliy Lomachenko recently revealed that his desire to become an undisputed world champion hasn’t wavered.

Following a one-sided victory over Richard Commey tonight in New York’s Madison Square Garden, the Ukrainian star moved one step closer.

In front of a mostly jam-packed crowd, Lomachenko opted to play things safe in the opening bell. The pound-for-pound star and former titlist cautiously approached Commey in the middle of the ring. While there appeared to be openings for him to attack, he was content with getting the range and feel of his man.

With most of the first round now behind them, Lomachenko began opening up. He landed a stinging jab that momentarily knocked Commey off balance. Although the action was slow to kick things off, both men began engaging in a heated back and forth contest.

A much more confident Lomachenko appeared in the second half of the second round. He effortlessly evaded the missile-like right hand of his foe and began unloading with several shots of his own. In the waning seconds of the period, Lomachenko connected on a hard right hook which sent Commey into the ropes. As the bell rang to signal the end of the period, Lomachenko walked to his chair while pointing and shouting at Commey.

Over the next two rounds, Lomachenko found his rhythm. He seamlessly stepped around his much larger opponent in an effort to make him miss while making him pay. Things got lopsided in the fifth. Lomachenko routinely landed numerous punches while Commey appeared unable to see where they were coming from.

As things continued, Commey seemed to be on the brink of defeat in the seventh. Lomachenko ruthlessly attacked him with a barrage of punches. Shortly after, the durable former IBF world titlist hit the deck. Although he managed to crawl back to his feet, Lomachenko glanced over at the corner of Commey as if he was surprised that they allowed their contest to continue. Lomachenko would then go on to punish the brave Ghana native.

On several occasions, Commey stumbled into the ropes. An irate Lomachenko pointed and shouted at the corner of Commey again, urging them to wave the white flag. Despite his concerning words, Commey continued to battle and fight. However, things only got progressively worse.

Following three disastrous rounds for the hard-hitting Commey, Lomachenko began dissecting him once again in the tenth. A completely exhausted Commey stood his ground in the middle of the ring and attempted to mount a bit of his own offense. Nevertheless, Lomachenko peppered him with a seven-punch combination that was punctuated by a ruthless shot to the body.

While Commey proved to be durable enough to withstand Lomachenko’s relentless attack for the entirety of their contest, his efforts were not rewarded as he handed a wide unanimous decision defeat.

Posted on 07/30/2021

By: Hans Themistode

Vasyl Lomachenko is reportedly ready to return to the ring before the year comes to an end.

According to Dan Rafael, formerly with ESPN, Lomachenko is slated to face off against Richard Commey on December 11th. As of now, no venue has been officially disclosed.

For Lomachenko, the Ukrainian sat back and listened as his pound-for-pound credentials were constantly questioned. With Teofimo Lopez dethroning him in October of 2020, there was an overwhelming belief that the former two-time Olympic gold medalist had seen better days. In his showdown against Lopez, Lomachenko fought lethargically in the first half before dominating down the stretch.

Since then, the 33-year-old attempted to secure a rematch with his loquacious rival, something that was originally denied. In an effort to prove that he was worthy of a second shot against Lopez and eager to demonstrate that he was still one of boxing’s best, Lomachenko dominated highly rated contender, Masayoshi Nakatani. The two faced off this past June at the Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas, Nevada. Although the Japanese native carried several physical advantages, Lomachenko dominated the action, dropping him multiple times before ultimately stopping him.

He’ll now look to make it two in a row when he takes on Commey. The former IBF lightweight belt holder saw his title reign come to an abrupt end, ironically enough, also at the hands of Teofimo Lopez.

In December of 2019, after a fairly even first round between the pair, Lopez landed a monstrous right hand that immediately sent Commey to the mat. While he would beat the count, referee David Fields would eventually call a halt to their contest just a few seconds later.

With his world title taken away from him, Commey would take more than a year off before making his return. This past February, the Bronx New York, resident walked through fringe contender Jackson Marinez, stopping him in the sixth round.

Both Commey and Lomachenko will look towards title shots in 2022 with a definitive win come December 11th.

Posted on 02/14/2021

By: Hans Themistode

The replay of Teofimo Lopez landing that one right hand that turned off the lights of Richard Commey was all that the former belt holder could see. Tonight however, while he didn’t erase the memory completely, he did place a new one in its place.

Commey’s newly found main event slot against Jackson Marinez turned out to be a one-sided showcase.

In no way shape, or form was the one-time belt holder looking to simply box his way to a unanimous decision victory. No, he intended on making a statement.

Mission accomplished.

Commey (30-3, 27 KOs) started things out fairly aggressively. He commanded the center of the ring and dared his opponent to exchange big shots with him. Marinez though, wanted no part of a slugfest and instead, opted to box on the outside. Although his slick approach allowed him to dodge a number of Commey’s bombs, he couldn’t keep up the pace for long.

The lack of power Marinez (19-2, 7 KOs) has displayed throughout the course of his career never appeared to be an issue for him before. Yet, the moment Commey realized that nothing Marinez connected with could place a dent in his armor, he grinned as the glancing blows bounced off his chin.

As for the shots landed by Commey, the difference in reaction was obvious. With each shot that the former titlist landed, Marinez grew more and more uncomfortable. The ring appeared to grow smaller as the pressure of Commey reached its breaking point.

As the midway point of round four rolled around, the damage being absorbed by Marinez was becoming more and more evident. Similar to how Lopez ended things between himself and Commey, the former titlist dropped and later finished Marinez in round six.

With the win, Commey officially becomes a player at the top of the lightweight division again.

Posted on 02/12/2021

By: Hans Themistode

Richard Commey (29-3, 26 KOs) was hoping to make his return to the ring in a much quieter way. With Joe Smith Jr. and his dance partner Maxim Vlasov being removed from the card due to Vlasov’s positive COVID-19 test, Commey has subsequently been moved to the main event slot and will have the spotlight all to himself.

It’s been a long time since anyone has seen Commey inside the ring. His last appearance, of course, was one he would rather forget. Roughly a year and a half ago, Commey dropped his newly won IBF lightweight title to Teofimo Lopez via second round stoppage. In hindsight, the loss doesn’t look awful considering Lopez went on to defeat Vasiliy Lomachenko and become the youngest undisputed champion of all-time. But still, his performance was horrific.

Joining Commey in his brighter than anticipated spotlight is Jackson Marinez (19-1, 7 KOs). The Dominican Republic product is still adamant that the loss on his record is nothing more than a mere typo as both he and most of the boxing world believe he did more than enough to earn a victory over Rolando Romero in August of 2020.

Coming into this one, both fighters need a win in the worst way but for different reasons. For Commey, there’s simply no other way to put it. He looked bad against Teofimo Lopez. Really bad. While most were expecting Lopez to win, almost no one anticipated their contest being so one-sided. A win this Saturday night won’t erase the memory of referee David Fields stepping in to save Commey from further punishment, but it’ll push the narrative that he simply had an off night.

As for Marinez, although most of the world is convinced that he should have been given the nod in his last contest, a win over a former world titlist and perpetual contender in Commey will allow him to take a step forward in his career, after the multiple steps he took back following the loss.

Official Prediction: Jackson Marinez

This is a tough one to call. Rolando Romero is pretty highly regarded despite his antics outside of the ring. What Marinez did against him was nothing short of impressive. But outside of that, he hasn’t exactly fought top competition and with seven knockout wins under his belt, he doesn’t appear to pack a ton of power in his fists.

Commey, on the other hand, has always been a heavy hitter. He gave both Denis Shafikov and Robert Easter Jr. a tough time and did score a win against Raymundo Beltran. With that being said, he is 33 years old and he has been in a number of wars during his career. Couple that with Marinez proving that he has the skills to deal with someone who has the capability of taking their opponent’s heads off and I feel fairly confident that Marinez will box his way to a decision victory.