Richard Commey knocks Raymundo Beltran down 4 times, wins TKO in 8

Richard Commey was successful in his first title defense against Raymundo Beltran. Does he stand a chance against Vasiliy Lomachenko next?

Richard Commey won the IBF lightweight title in February and was supposed to defend it against Vasiliy Lomachenko in April, but a right hand injury forced him out of the fight. On Friday, June 28, he made his first defense against veteran and former champion Raymundo Beltran on ESPN.

Round 1 looked like a round of the year candidate. Commey scored early and often with his destructive right hand. His first significant right connected to Beltran’s body, but as Beltran moved back, Commey nailed him with a straight right to the head that dropped him.

Beltran got to his feet, but he was caught on the ropes with over a minute and a half in the round. Commey jumped all over him and found him with another right cross to the head, but Beltran was held up by the ropes. He was given a standing eight-count. Commey tried to get Beltran out of there early, but he managed to survive the round.

The pace came to a halting stop in the second as both men were tired. Beltran started to find his left hook, but it was a painfully dull round compared to the first.

Commey’s game got sloppy in the third round. He tried to knock out Beltran with every punch he threw, swinging wildly and missing in the process. Commey showed some defensive liabilities as he moved straight back while ducking his head down. However, Beltran couldn’t make Commey pay for leaving his head open.

About 30 seconds into round 4, Commey and Beltran’s heads collided. Commey’s right eye took most of the damage, but he wasn’t cut. Towards the end of the round, Commey hurt Beltran with a right, but he measured his attack and didn’t overexert himself as he did in the first round.

Beltran’s legs looked unsteady to start round 5. He was still feeling the effects of Commey’s right hand in the previous round. It looked like Beltran was pushed to the canvas, but the referee ruled it a knockdown. Beltran disagreed with the call and fought back with some hooks of his own to prove he was still in the fight.

Beltran hit Commey with another head but in the sixth round. Commey acted hurt, but Beltran was the one who suffered a cut. Commey’s right eye began to swell at an alarming rate.

The seventh round was quiet, but fireworks exploded in round 8. Around 40 seconds into the round, Commey caught Beltran with a left hook in close that Beltran didn’t see coming. He fell to the floor immediately.

Beltran showed his toughness and heart getting back to his feet, but the referee didn’t like the way he looked and waived off the fight. Beltran appeared as if he could continue, but he was no longer competitive.

https://twitter.com/trboxing/status/1144823303552376832

Commey scored his fourth consecutive knockout, but he also showed some holes in his defense. He’s a fun boxer to watch, but fighters like Vasiliy Lomachenko and Teofimo Lopez have the type of power to make Commey pay for leaving his head exposed.

Commey is the IBF champion, but he didn’t look like he could give Lomachenko a run for his money. It will be interesting to see where Commey goes from here. He’s a world-class fighter, but Lomachenko is the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world. Commey would be wise to avoid him at all costs.