NEW YORK,
NEW YORK:
Commey is
unbeaten
since moving
to Americahttp://www.boxingnewsonline.net JUNE 27, 2019 lBOXING NEWSl 31
arguably the world’s finest fighter, Vasyl Lomachenko,
who currently holds the WBA and WBO titles and will
challenge Luke Campbell for the vacant WBC strap
later this year.
Waiting in the lightweight wings, meanwhile, is
plenty of precocious talent with starlets like Teofimo
Lopez, Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia all tipped to
become colossal stars of the future. Commey, as a
result, is often overlooked.
Even clinching the world title did little to alter the
wider perception of Bukom’s 32-year-old star, nor did
it change his outlook on the sport.
“Honestly speaking, I don’t feel any different now
I’m the champion,” he adds.
“It’s just normal for me, on a day-to-day basis I still
do things like I always have. You see a lot of boxers
who win world titles can change but for me I
just do my thing, keep doing what I do.
“I knew it was always in me anyway.
The reason why I
knew was because
I had sparred Kevin
Mitchell, I had sparred
Ricky Burns, even
back then, I wasn’t at
the top level but I had
great spars against
them.
“It was around then
that I realised that I
could really do this. If
guys like them had won world titles then why couldn’t
I? Now I just have the belt to prove it. I knew after the
Robert Easter fight that I was a world champion then.”
That night, in September 2016, Commey floored
Easter in the eighth round of a Pennsylvania thriller
but dropped a controversial split decision to the
American, who inexplicably won 115-112 on judge Ron
McNair’s card.
He suffered a second successive heartbreak just
three months later when he travelled to Moscow to
face Russian Denis Shafikov only to watch another
split decision go against him but then he and Amoo
decided to make a change.Commey boxed and won back home in Ghana
in March 2017 before he linked up with promoter
Lou DiBella and made the aforementioned switch
Stateside. The move was an inspired one and a trio of
inside-distance victories have vindicated the decision.
The last of those, a 3-39 demolition of Chaniev,
earned him the belt he craved but now far tougher
tests lie in wait. He hit Chaniev so hard in their fight
that he sustained an injury to his right hand which
put a line through plans to face Lomachenko in a
unification blockbuster scheduled for March.
Instead, Commey let his injury heal and
Lomachenko despatched Anthony Crolla in the fourth
round of their Staples Center encounter and they
remain on a collision course so long as both of them
keep winning.
And, while Lomachenko will bid to claim
his third lightweight title against Campbell,
32-year-old Commey has opted to face the
wily old figure of
Raymundo Beltran
[see facing page], who
surrendered his WBO
title to Paulus Moses
in February of last
year.
Victory will not
only further cement
Commey’s credentials
as a world lightweight
champion but also set-
up a potential four-belt unification with Lomachenko
which would go down as one of the biggest fights
involving an African in the history of the sport.
“I know one day, in the future it’s going to happen
but at the moment I am just looking forward to my
next one,” he says. “I know I have a big opportunity in
this division. I don’t have a problem fighting anyone.
Everyone regards Lomachenko as one of the best in
the division or the pound-for-pound No.1 but when
the time comes, people will see what Richard Commey
has got.”
And he might then need a hand getting all those
belts past big Kevin and up to the top of the Tower. bnWHEN THE TIME COMES
FOR ME TO FIGHT
LOMACHENKO, PEOPLE
WILL SEE WHAT RICHARD
COMMEY HAS GOT”