my father [and trainer Anatoly Lomachenko] told me, 'You need to go to the body.' Linares is a great champion, and the fight was good for the fans and everybody." Speaking of the knockout punch, Linares said it was 'perfectly landed.' De La Hoya also congratulated Arum on the fight and told Arum it was good experience working together. According to CompuBox Stats, Linares landed 207 of 739 punches thrown (28%), this included 139 power punches landed and a total amount of 77 body shots landed. Lomachenko landed 213 of 627 punches thrown (34%), with 112 jabs. For the fight, Linares was paid a career high $1 million, with Lomachenko receiving a $1.2 million purse. The card averaged 1,024,00 viewers. The fight itself averaged 1,439,000 viewers and peaked at 1,749,000 viewers, making it the most-watched boxing fight on cable television in 2018. On 23 May, Lomachenko officially vacated his WBO super featherweight title. Lomachenko vs. Pedraza After winning the WBA (Super) and The Ring lightweight titles, promoter Arum stated that Lomachenko would defend the belts on 25 August 2018 at The Forum in Inglewood, California. A possible unification with WBO titleholder Raymundo Beltran was a likely possibility. After vacating his WBO title, Arum stated Lomachenko would not fight on 25 August. It was later revealed that earlier in the bout against Linares, Lomachenko suffered a torn labrum in his right shoulder. He underwent surgery on 30 May at the Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles. According to Lomachenko, the shoulder popped out and then back in during the second round. A new return date of December 2018 was targeted. On 10 July, Lomachenko revealed he would return on 25 August. However, on 31 July, his manager Egis Klimas told The Boxing Beat on ESPN+, Lomachenko would make his ring return on 1 December. In the interview, he also stated it would likely be a unification fight against the winner of the Raymundo Beltran vs. José Pedraza bout, which was scheduled to be contested on 25 August. Pedraza defeated Beltran via unanimous decision, winning the WBO title and setting up a fight with Lomachenko. In September, The Ring magazine announced the unification fight between Lomachenko and Pedraza would take place on 8 December 2018 at the Hulu Theatre in New York City. For the first time as a professional, Lomachenko unified in a weight division as he beat Pedraza via unanimous