Boxing Video: Vasyl Lomachenko Makes Easy Work of Roman Martinez

Watch: @vasyllomachenko's match winning explosive right hook. #MartinezLomachenko https://t.co/gN6I93NivU

— HBOboxing (@HBOboxing) June 12, 2016

There is a nonchalance about Vasyl Lomachenko. Everything comes so naturally to the two-time Olympic gold medalist in the ring. The way he works angles, his unbelievable hand speed and understated confidence projects the image that you can’t beat him.

Roman Martinez tired Saturday night, at the Theater at Madison Square Garden.

At stake was the Martinez’s WBO junior lightweight title.

You blink, you miss him.

That’s apparently what Martinez may have done in the fifth round, when Lomachenko nailed him with a textbook right hook to the face, sending the rugged veteran down in a heap. Martinez never got up, ending at 1:09 of the fifth.

Lomachenko set up the telling blow with a left to the face, causing Martinez to pull up his guard. Lomachenko then followed that with a left uppercut, then a devastating right hook.

That was it. Martinez was out.

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And it’s hard to believe Lomachenko (6-1, 4 KOs) has had just seven pro fights. But apparently the Russian is very real. It was his third-straight win by knockout.

In his second fight, Lomachenko took on and lost to then-WBO featherweight titlist Orlando Salido, who lost the belt on the scales. Salido, however, lost to Martinez in April 2015. Despite beating Martinez, who beat Salido, the Salido defeat is still a point of contention with Lomachenko.

“I need more fights, I have to have more fights to get better,” Lomachenko admitted. “The reason I like boxing is all of the best fighters come together in the Olympics and you see who the best is. I want to do the same in professional boxing. I want to line up all of the best at 130 and see who the best fighter is.

“There is a saying in boxing that if you want to win by knockout, you’re never going to win. Coming into the fight, I didn’t come to knock him out. I came into this fight trying to do my job and win. The knockout came it was all great. I’m ready to fight Salido any time. Let’s do it. I forgot about the loss to Salido. It was a great experience for me and it made me a better fighter. I really want the Salido fight for my fans. I want to give them a rematch and win over Salido.”

This was a typical Lomachenko victory. He landed 87-202 (43%) total punches, to Martinez’s 34-178 (19%). Lomachenko connected on 32-107 (30%) jabs, to a scant 6-81 (7%) for Martinez. His power shots were also overwhelming, landing 55-95 (58%) to Martinez’s 28-97 (29%).

Going into the fight, Lomachenko openly admitted that Martinez had nothing he had to worry about.

It was devastating. It was impactful. And it was cause for fight fans to want more from Lomachenko.

Joseph Santoliquito is the president of the Boxing Writer's Association of America and a frequent contributor to Sherdog.com's mixed martial arts and boxing coverage. His archive can be found here.