Ukrainian boxer Vasyl Lomachenko outclassed his South Korean opponent Han Soonchul in the final of the men’s lightweight category to take the gold medal Sunday.
World champion Lomachenko pummeled the South Korean in a 19-9 win as Han’s longer reach failed to stop the Ukrainian scoring good points close-up.
Han’s greatest achievement to date came with silver in the Asian Games in 2006, and he seemed out of place against Lomachenko, who got in close in the first round to land several crunching body shots and big uppercut to the face, winning the round 7-2.
The second round was more even as Han began to use his long reach but Lomachenko still landed good blows to the ribs as he won 4-3.
Lomachenko consolidated his position in the third, boxing slightly more cautiously in a round that ended 8-4, giving him the gold.
Cuba’s Yasnier Toledo Lopez and Lithuania’s Evaldas Petrauskas won bronze after Friday’s semifinals, in which Lomachenko beat Toledo Lopez 14-11 in a rematch of last year’s world championship final and Han beat Petrauskas 18-13.
