Winning championships is becoming a welcomed habit for Vasyl Lomachenko, as the pound for pound king added a third world title in as many weight classes on Saturday night to go alongside his Olympic gold medal triumphs.

Hi-Tech, who was competing in only his 12th professional fight, did what many expected him to do in beating Jorge Linares to capture the WBA world lightweight championship in front of 10,429 fans packed inside Madison Square Garden, becoming the fastest boxer in history to accomplish this feat in only 12 professional fights.

HISTORY

Despite putting the Venezuelan away in brutal fashion with a quick shot to the liver, it was far from easy for Lomachenko whose chin was tested by Linares on multiple occasions. In round six, Lomachenko tasted the canvas after Linares landed a perfect shot but fought back to end that round well.

Linares was causing Lomachenko some problems in the first half of the fight; being able to handle the Ukrainian’s crafty movement while landing some important shots that resulted in one judge having him ahead on the scorecard, before the stoppage.

One judge had Linares up 86-84 at the time of the stoppage, another had Lomachenko up by the same score while the third judge had it even at 85-85.

In the end, though, the hand and foot speed of Lomachenko - who was competing at lightweight for the first time in his career - proved to be decisive against the bigger man in Linares. After being floored by eating a straight right to the nose, he managed to open up a cut over Linares’ left eye two rounds later and instantly had the bullseye to target, which he did mercilessly.

In the 10th round, Lomachenko connected with a devastating flurry of blows, finishing off with a thudding left to the body - as you’ll be able to see below - that instantly sent him crashing to the canvas before referee Ricky Gonzalez stepped in to wave off the bout and hand Lomachenko the TKO victory.

Speaking after the fight to ESPN, Lomachenko admitted that Linares landed with a great punch to score the knockdown, but revealed his father told him that he needed to go to the body - and that’s exactly what he did to score the big win.

He said: “Linares is a great champion, and the fight was good for the fans and everybody.

“It was a great fight. That right hand [that knocked me down], it was a great punch. It happens. I prepared for the last few rounds and my father told me, ‘You need to go to the body.’”

With a third world title in the bag and Linares being the latest to crack the code inside of The Matrix, it's no surprise that boxing fans on social media are confidently claiming that Lomachenko truly is the best pound for pound fighter on the planet.

What did you make of the devastating liver punch that put away Jorge Linares? Have YOUR say in the comments section below.