Loma wants to be undisputed at 135

After being out of the ring for ten months, former three-weight world champion Vasiliy Lomachenko, who at one point, was fighting in a war for his home country Ukraine while he was away from the ring, made his return Saturday night against Jamaine Ortiz (16-1-1, 8 KOs) at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden.

Lomachenko started slow but took over late in the fight to defeat Ortiz by unanimous decision. 

The three judges had it 115-113, 116-112, and 117-111, all for Loma.

Photos: Mikey Williams/Top Rank

Ortiz was the aggressor early in the fight as he utilized his jab, which caused some bruising under Loma’s right eye.  After six rounds, Ortiz and Lomachenko were even on two scorecards, but Ortiz was ahead by two points on the other.

However, Loma controlled the fight from there, and two of the judges had Lomachenko sweeping the final six rounds. Overall, Lomachenko outlanded Ortiz 125-122.

“I’m happy. I’m happy to come back in the ring and make this a great show,” Lomachenko said. “Thank you to my fans for the support. You know what motivated me? Four belts!”

Now, Loma(17-2, 11 KOs) has his sights set on a fight with undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney, who was in attendance Saturday night. 

Midway through Lomachenko’s post-fight interview, he was joined in the ring by Haney, who expressed his desire to fight Loma next.

Haney felt this was not Loma’s best performance, which is true, but he expects to see a better version of the Ukrainian superstar if the two were to fight.

“I think it wasn’t the best performance, but I know if me and Loma were to fight, we’d see a better version on the night,” Haney said. “Congratulations, and hopefully, we can get it on.”

Top Rank’s Bob Arum wants Haney-Lomachenko and will do everything he can to make it happen.

“The fight to make in the lightweight division is Haney versus Lomachenko,” Arum said. “And we will do everything we can to make the undisputed championship showdown that all fight fans want to see. They are the world’s premier lightweights, and it would be a fantastic battle.”

Haney-Loma would be a quality fight, but you have to favor Haney at this point. He’s the bigger and younger guy; at this point, who knows how many great nights Loma has in his 35-year-old body. Defeating Ortiz was a good win Loma, but Haney will be much more demanding.

Ramirez gets it done:

Robeisy “El Tren” Ramirez (11-1, 7 KOs) wants a featherweight title shot, and he may get it soon. The two-time Olympic gold medalist steamrolled late replacement Jose Matias Romero (26-3, 9 KOs) via ninth-round TKO to retain his USBA and WBO Global belts. Ramirez had his man his trouble in the first and seventh rounds, but the Argentina native refused to relent. In the ninth, Ramirez uncorked a left hand that staggered Romero and ended the one-way carnage.

Ramirez outlanded Romero in power punches, 129-32, including a 19-3 advantage in the ninth round. He is now targeting a featherweight world title shot in early 2023.

“We know that Matias is a fighter who is slick, who knows how to survive inside the ring, and that was his plan. I hurt him early, but then we tried to get him out early. And then, Ismael Salas, who is my strategist… he is a chess master. He’s moving the pieces in there, and finally we were able to do it properly and get him out of there,” Ramirez said. “I think the result speaks for itself. I got the stoppage, sent a message, and in the end, if {Emanuel} Navarrete is no longer the champion at 126 pounds, if he’s fighting Oscar Valdez for the championship at 130 pounds, then I got next at 126, and I want that belt.”

In undercard action:

Heavyweight: Richard Torrez Jr. (4-0, 4 KOs) TKO 3 Ahmed Hefny (13-3, 5 KOs). In the evening’s final preliminary bout, Torrez joined his Olympic teammates in the win column. After a second-round stoppage and a pair of first-round knockouts to start his pro career, Torrez saw the third round for the first time. Hefny was knocked down with a left hand in the second, and the onslaught continued in the third until referee Arthur Mercante stepped in.

Featherweight: Duke Ragan (8-0, 1 KO) UD Luis Lebron (18-5-1, 11 KOs), Scores: 79-73, 78-74 and 77-75. U.S. Olympic silver medalist Ragan did what he does best, which is to use his well-schooled defense to offset his hard-charging foe. Lebron, the Puerto Rican power puncher, was never deterred, if not effective. The Garden crowd booed the verdict, but Cincinnati’s Ragan did more than enough to seal the victory on the judges’ cards.

Middleweight: Troy Isley (8-0, 4 KOs) UD 8 Quincy Lavallais (14-4-1, 9 KOs), Scores: 80-72 2x and 79-73. Isley passed his first eight-round test with flying colors, nearly shutting out Lavallais, a six-year pro known for his iron chin.

Junior Welterweight: Tiger Johnson (6-0, 4 KOs) UD 6 Esteban Garcia (15-2, 7 KOs), Scores: 60-54 3x. Johnson’s three-bout knockout streak ended, but the Tokyo 2020 U.S. Olympian gained much-needed experience in going the six-round distance for the first time in his career.

Middleweight: Nico Ali Walsh (7-0, 5 KOs) UD 6 Billy Wagner (5-3, 1 KO), Scores: 58-56 2x and 59-55. Ali Walsh received a lot of resistance from Montana native Wagner, who weathered an early storm and even appeared to stun the grandson of “The Greatest” at the end of the second round. Wagner could not sustain his early success, as Ali Walsh pressed forward in the final two rounds to secure the narrow victory.

Lightweight: Abdullah Mason (5-0, 4 KOs) TKO 4 Angel Barrera (4-1), :21. Southpaw sensation Mason, from Cleveland, Ohio, fought well beyond his years with a methodical and devastating beatdown of Barrera. Mason notched a pair of knockdowns in the third round, the first coming courtesy of a straight left hand. Early in the fourth, a sweeping left compelled referee Johnny Callas to wave off the fight.

Junior Lightweight: Haven Brady Jr. (8-0, 4 KOs) UD 8 Eric Mondragon (7-1-1, 4 KOs), Scores: 79-73 2x and 78-74. In a battle of unbeatens, Brady authored the most significant win of his career, picking apart the California-born Mondragon with an assortment of jabs and uppercuts.