Vasily Lomachenko says his father/trainer, Anatoly, convinced him to come back and fight for another title when he was out for a year after his controversial loss to Devin Haney in May 2023.
A Year of Reflection and a Father’s Plea
Lomachenko (18-0, 12 KOs) wanted to finish his career because he felt he’d done enough in the sport, but his dad, Anatoly, motivated him to come back and fight for a belt one more time.
That decision turned out to be a good one, as Lomachenko looked like 24K gold last Saturday night, demolishing former unified lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr. in an eleventh-round knockout to win the vacant IBF 135-lb title at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.
Lomachenko looked nearly as good as he had when he started his career at featherweight. He hadn’t shined like this since moving up to lightweight in 2018. If Lomachenko can fight like that, he’s got a good chance of unifying the lightweight division.
Unification on the Horizon?
It’s unclear if Lomachenko will come back to fight a unification against one of the other lightweight champions, as his promoter, Bob Arum, wants him to. He says he wants to think and make a decision.
“This is a title for him because after Haney, I wanted to finish my boxing career,” Vasily Lomachenko told Top Rank last Saturday night after his eleventh-round knockout win over George Kambosos Jr. about how his dad, Anatoly Lomahenko, convinced him to return to the ring after he’d been out for a year after his disappointing controversial loss to Haney last year in May.
“After this fight with Haney, I proved to myself in this sport and I don’t need to continue. But my father, every day, he sends me news, and every time, he sends highlights. I feel he wants to continue and wants a title again.
“He told me, ‘We need to do one more time this one. We need to fight again for title.’ It was a hard decision for me because I’m tired. But I love my family, I respect my father. My father built me in boxing and in life. This is title, this is a win for my father,” said Lomachenko.