Richard Commey wasted no time in sending a message to unified lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko.
In less than four minutes, Commey dropped Isa Chaniev twice and stopped him to win the vacant IBF lightweight title. The fight took place as the opening bout of the ESPN-televised portion of a Top Rank Boxing card from The Star in Frisco, Texas.
Commey started off by dominating Chaniev, landing several power punches with ease. Commey got the first knockdown with a strong 1-2 combination that began with a left hook and then a straight right hand to Chaniev, dropping him to the canvas. Chaniev was very slow to get up and appeared to not have fully recovered from getting dropped but the fight continued. Commey dropped Chaniev early in the second round with a left hook, eventually stopping Chaniev to win the world title.
Now that Commey has a world title, he appears set to face Lomachenko on April 12 to unify the WBA, WBO and IBF 135-pound titles. The winner would then be one title away from being considered the undisputed lightweight champion.
The title was previously held by current WBC champion Mikey Garcia. Garcia won the IBF title last July when he defeated Robert Easter Jr. to unify the titles in Los Angeles. Garcia vacated the title when he elected to challenge for Errol Spence Jr.'s IBF welterweight title instead of defending his lightweight title against Commey, the mandatory challenger for the IBF belt. With the title vacant, it opened the door for Commey and Chaniev to fight for the vacant title.
Fightful.com