Vasiliy Lomachenko became lightweight world champion for a second time earlier this year.
The elite Ukrainian, who has one of the most impressive amateur records the sport has ever seen, was the first man to stop George Kambosos Jr, picking up the IBF belt in the process.
He entered unification talks with WBA Champion Gervonta Davis after the latter’s impressive stoppage victory over Frank Martin in June, however the Ukrainian’s team soon revealed he had backed out entirely due to a lack of motivation to fight again this year and a desire to instead spend time with his family in war-torn Ukraine.
At 36, many felt that could be it for Lomachenko inside the ropes. Speaking to Maestro A, veteran promoter Bob Arum said explicitly that this was not the case and in 2025 they would deliver a ‘major’ fight.
“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.”
How the IBF deals with the extended time out of the ring remains to be seen. The current number one contender is William Zepeda, but he is expected go the WBC route to face Shakur Stevenson – another man who wants a unification with ‘Loma.’
Next in line is Top Rank’s own Keyshawn Davis, who defends his number two position against Gustavo Lemos on November 8 in his hometown of Norfolk, Virginia.
Should Stevenson and ‘Tank’ hold on to their belts in the ring and Lomachenko manages to do the same after his time out, there will be continued fan pressure for the champions to face off in any order. Stevenson fights on October 12 against Joe Cordina and ‘Tank’ is said to be finalising a fight for November 2 with an opponent yet to be announced.
