“I hit harder.” Commey interview on Lomachenko, Lopez, Haney

Former world lightweight champion (up to 61.2 kg) Ghanaian Richard Commey (30-4-1, 27 KOs) gave
interview for the YouTube channel “Viktor Yalymov’s Boxing Studio”

In a conversation, Richard spoke about his defeats to the former absolute champion from the United States Teofimo Lopez (18-1, 13 KOs) and the former holder of three titles Ukrainian Vasily Lomachenko (17-2, 11 KOs).

Commi also commented on Lomachenko’s upcoming fight against the undisputed champion of the USA Devin Haney (29-0, 15 KOs), the potential fight between Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia and his forthcoming fight on March 25 against the former unified super lightweight champion (up to 63.5 kg) American Jose Ramirez (27-1, 17 KOs).

– You lost ahead of schedule to Teofimo Lopez. Was it underestimated? What can you say about this fight?

“I can say that I really underestimated him. Boxing is a sport in which you cannot underestimate any of your opponents. I trained very hard for that fight, the team worked on my preparation, I had a great training camp, but sometimes people like me from Africa, they don’t have the same level of support, they don’t have that advantage in the ring that have, say, the Americans or the British. Because the energy goes more in their direction. There was an unfortunate precedent in boxing that year when one fighter died in the ring and perhaps the referee was frightened by the experience and thought it was saving my life by breaking the fight early. I think he should have given me a little more time, let me show what else I can do in the ring.

Lopez fought Lomachenko next. Did you think Lomachenko would lose by unanimous decision?

– I initially assumed that it would be a very hot and good fight, but it was difficult to predict any results. Although I was a little surprised by the battle that Teofimo won this victory so easily. But then, after the fight, I found out that Vasily Lomachenko had an injury. And when you enter the ring with an injury, of course, you can no longer fight at full strength. I found out about this only after their fight. Nevertheless, Teofimo still performed well. And the fact that he defeated one of the best boxers – he deserves this victory.

— Let’s remember your fight against Lomachenko. How do you like him, what worked, what didn’t work, did you expect anything more from Lomachenko?

– The fight with Vasily Lomachenko was a very bright fight. I was happy that I had the opportunity to enter the ring against Vasily Lomachenko. He is one of the best boxers in the world, and in fact, not everyone wants to enter the ring against such a boxer. What can I say about him as an opponent? I would not say that he has, straight, very strong blows. I think I hit harder. But he moves well, works with his feet. That is, my style is to focus on physical strength, and he is good in movements. He is very smart and moves fast. But I did what I had to do, what I could do, and again, it was an amazing experience.

– There was a moment when Vasily hit you with several tight blows and asked your corner to refuse the fight. What were you thinking at that moment? Did it annoy or anger you?

“Actually, I can’t say that it provoked any reactions in me. Of course, I was a little surprised by his behavior, but then I thought that maybe he was doing this for his fans, in order to somehow show himself in their eyes.

• Devin Haney – Vasily Lomachenko: prediction from Teofimo Lopez Sr.

– Now there should be a fight between Lomachenko and Haney …

– I can say that Haney is young, talented, he won all his fights, he went through many fights with good boxers, and now he is a champion. He is confident in himself, he shows excellent results. At the same time, Lomachenko – yes, he has a little less fights, but he also competed with great strong boxers, big ones like me and Teofimo. I can only say that it will be a very spectacular fight. I wish them both success, good luck, and I think that the best will win. But the fight will be close.

Who do you prefer in this fight?

It’s hard for me to name one of them.

– Gervonta Davis – Ryan Garcia, will there be such a fight, and who is your favorite?

– As far as I know, there are discussions, negotiations, a contract was sent from one side to the other. Looks like this fight is going to happen. And it’s very hard to say. The guys know each other, and on the one hand, this is an advantage for a boxer when he knows who he will enter the ring against. And again, Davis went against many boxers. And Ryan Garcia is also a very talented boxer. Although he did not enter the ring for some time for certain reasons, but now he is back, he has had several fights. You never know which one of them will win, but it will definitely be a very interesting fight, a very bright fight. And again, I can’t name a possible winner. The best one will win.

– Now your fight against Jose Ramirez has been confirmed. I understand correctly that this is a new weight fight, and in general, how many more years do you plan to box?

– As for the fight with Ramirez, I’m looking forward to it. As for the future in general, I will box as much as I can, as long as my body can withstand it. Basically, I try to maintain a healthy lifestyle, believe in God, do the right good things and continue to box. The moment I feel that everything, my body is no longer able to withstand it, then I will finish. But I hope that by that time I will still have time to become a two-time world champion. We will see.