due to Salido landing numerous low blows and head-butts that the referee failed to call and/or deduct a point. A total of 52 low blows can easily be counted throughout the bout, something that his opponent exploited. A late surge, which saw him injure Salido in the final round, was unable to change the final result, losing by split decision. Two judges had it for Salido 116–112 and 115–113, while the third had it for Lomachenko 115–113. Lomachenko, for his part, stated he felt the decision was fair and accepted blame for not following through with his corner's game plan, promising to learn from the experience and come back stronger. The referee of the fight, Laurence Cole, was roundly criticized by many boxing media outlets for his seemingly ignoring the very many foul blows by Salido, and his perceived failure to properly conduct the match. Lomachenko vs. Russell Jr. The WBO title remained vacant due to Salido not making weight. On 20 March 2014 the WBO contacted Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank to make them aware that they had 30 days to negotiate a fight between Lomachenko and Gary Russell Jr. (24-0, 14 KO) for the vacant WBO featherweight title. In an interview, WBO President Paco Valcarcel said that the fight should take place no later than July 2014. Purse bids were scheduled which Golden Boy won with a bid of $1,052,500, while Top Rank bid $1,050,000. Lomachenko was entitled to $631,350 (60%) and Russell Jr. was entitled to $420,900 (40%). Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer challenged Lomachenko's residency. According to the WBO, "If the fight is held in the country of origin, residence or nationality of one of the contenders, the resident contestant shall receive 40 percent and his opponent shall receive 60 percent off the total purse offered." Schaefer claimed Lomachenko resided in Marina del Rey, California. It was later ascertained that Lomachenko had rented a home in California to live in while training, while Ukraine remained his permanent residence. The fight took place on 21 June at the StubHub Center in Carson, California. Lomachenko defeated Russell Jr. via twelve-round majority decision to win the vacant WBO featherweight title. Judge Lisa Giampa scored the fight a 114–114 draw, but judges Max DeLuca and Pat Russell scored the fight 116–112 in favour of Lomachenko. Lomachenko used his power and swift skills to maintain control of the fight until