Vasiliy Lomachenko won the IBF World Lightweight World Title earlier this year to add to his already impressive legacy.
The Ukrainian became the first man to stop George Kambosos Jr to win the belt and would later enter talks with Gervonta Davis, the WBA Champion, for a unification bout.
Negotiations were cut short when the 36-year-old pulled out due to a lack of motivation to fight again this year. Instead, it was said that he wanted to return home to spend time with his family and help his country’s efforts against the ongoing Russian invasion.
Lomachenko’s promoter Bob Arum, when speaking to the Maestro A channel in August, was clear that his fighter was not retired, rather that they would be preparing for a ‘major fight’ in 2025.
“I had lunch in LA with Vasiliy and his father before they headed back to Ukraine. He told me, ‘Bob, I fought a lot. I’m an older fighter. I want to go back to Ukraine to spend time with my family’ – cause there’s a war going on in Ukraine. Sometime next year we’ll be talking to do a major fight. So he’s not retired, he’s going to come back next year.”
Despite his previous certainty, ensuring fans ‘we will see him again’, Arum’s latest update to Boxing Scene has dialled back the optimism considerably.
“There’s absolutely no way to know what he’ll do and if you asked me right now what he’s doing, I’d say, ‘I don’t know.’ … He’s done extremely well in keeping his money, taking care of his family and he has all of his faculties – he’s accomplished all he wants from a professional career. I’m very happy with that. Of course if he wants to come back and fight, God love him, and we will help him with his next fight.”
Lomachenko – one of the most successful amateur fighters the sport has ever seen – is yet to comment on the matter publicly, though the IBF will soon be called to take action on his status as champion.
