Vasiliy Lomachenko has changed his mind about the retirement that was announced just under a year ago, on the day his contract with Top Rank expired, according to Mike Coppinger of The Ring
.The Ring said on social media that Lomachenko is “seeking the biggest fights possible” as a promotional free agent.
Now 38, Lomachenko (18-3, 12 KO) hasn’t fought since routing and stopping George Kambosos Jr two years ago yesterday, which saw Lomachenko win the IBF title that was later vacated, and is now held
by Raymond Muratalla.
A year before beating Kambosos, Lomachenko lost a close and debated decision to Devin Haney.
The Ukrainian star is definitely past his very best days, as pretty much all fighters and athletes are at age 38, but his skills have still looked sharp in recent fights, and he could be an interesting addition to the lightweight ranks, or even going back down to 130, perhaps, as he’s always been a little small fighting at lightweight. Lomachenko’s moves up from 126 to 130 and then 130 to 135 were mainly about securing bigger fights.
Potential big fights for Lomachenko
The title scene at 135 right now is dominated by Top Rank, who have both the IBF (Muratalla) and WBO (Abdullah Mason) titles in-house. The WBA belt is tentatively held by Gervonta “Tank” Davis, who would definitely be a money fight for Lomachenko if, indeed, Davis fights again, and the WBC title remains vacant for the time being.
Shakur Stevenson could also be an option. There have been rumblings about Stevenson signing with Zuffa, and Lomachenko could also be on the Zuffa radar as a free agent. The issue there could be weight. With Zuffa not doing any of the “in-between” divisions — e.g. 130, 140 — either Shakur would have to move back down to 135, or Lomachenko would have to move up to 147. But if the money’s right, either could be possible.
