ANTHONY CROLLA emerged from a conclusive fourth-round stoppage by Vasyl Lomachenko with his health and pride intact, according to promoter Eddie Hearn.
Crollaโs challenge for the WBA and WBO lightweight titles held by Lomachenko ended in brutally one-sided fashion in the early hours of Saturday morning at Los Angelesโ Staples Center.
The former world champion from Manchester survived a standing eight-count in the third but the fight was over a round later.
โAnthonyโs fine. Obviously it was a heavy knockout โ a temple shot he didnโt see,โ Hearn told Sky Sports.
โAfter he was counted out he got up and was fine. But heโs devastated. He said: โIโm just so gutted for the team because of the work they didโ. Iโm like: โDonโt worry about the team, you just fought pound for pound number oneโ.
โEverybody said to him โ (promoter) Bob Arum, every fighter at ringside โ โThereโs no disgrace in that, mateโ.
โYouโre mandatory challenger, what else are you going to do? You get a shot at Lomachenko, youโve got to take it. But he was just too good.
โThe third round was a weird one because he was sitting on the ropes. I thought it was a poor stoppage because although he wasnโt particularly in the fight, it was a poor stoppage.
โUnfortunately in the fourth round Crolla knew he had to do something and go for it. When you do that against Lomachenko, you leave yourself wide open with gaps. Lomachenko was too good for Anthony.
โThis shot came against the head, you canโt not take this opportunity. Losing to Lomachenko is never a disgrace.
โHe can have zero regrets because he prepared the best he could, itโs just about levels. Who is going to beat Lomachenko?โ
Lomachenko, a two-time Olympic champion, justified his overwhelming favourite status with a clinical 13th win of his professional career.
โI want Mikey Garcia. I want to unify titles. Thatโs my goal. I want historic fights,โ Lomachenko said.