Vasiliy Lomachenko ends retirement, eyes major fights for fall return

According to The Ring’s Mike Coppinger, Vasiliy Lomachenko is planning to come out of retirement and return to boxing later this year, with the former three-division champion targeting only marquee fights.

Sources indicate Lomachenko’s back condition has improved following a lengthy layoff, and the 38-year-old is now preparing for a comeback after initially retiring in June 2025.

Lomachenko last fought on May 12, 2024, when he stopped George Kambosos Jr in the 11th round in Perth, Australia, to capture the IBF lightweight title. That victory was expected to lead directly into a long-discussed showdown with Gervonta Davis later that year, with a November 2024 date heavily anticipated within the industry.

Instead, Lomachenko stepped away from the sport as concerns over his physical condition intensified. His manager, Egis Klimas, told BoxingScene in late 2024 that the Ukrainian had suffered a back injury during training and would only continue boxing if he could fully recover.

At the same time, IBF mandatory obligations were beginning to close in around the lightweight title picture. Zaur Abdullaev and fourth-ranked contender Raymond Muratalla emerged as mandatory challengers, with Lomachenko later granted a medical extension in January 2025 while Abdullaev and Muratalla were ordered to contest an interim title fight.

Lomachenko eventually announced his retirement in June 2025 at the age of 37, bringing an apparent end to one of the most decorated careers of the modern era.

Before turning professional, Lomachenko compiled a reported 396-1 amateur record and won Olympic gold medals at both the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Games. He entered the paid ranks in 2013 and immediately pursued elite competition, unsuccessfully challenging Orlando Salido for a world title in just his second professional fight in a controversial split decision defeat.

He rebounded in his third bout by defeating Gary Russell Jr to win the vacant WBO featherweight title, matching the record for the fewest fights needed to become a world champion. Lomachenko later added a second divisional title in his seventh professional contest when he stopped Roman Martinez in five rounds to claim the WBO junior-lightweight belt.

Victories over Nicholas Walters, Miguel Marriaga and Guillermo Rigondeaux further elevated his standing before he moved to lightweight in 2018. Lomachenko stopped Jorge Linares at Madison Square Garden to win The Ring and WBA lightweight titles despite suffering a knockdown, then unified belts later that year against Jose Pedraza.

Additional wins over Anthony Crolla and Luke Campbell followed before his second professional defeat came against Teofimo Lopez in their 2020 lightweight unification bout. Lomachenko later defeated Richard Commey and Jamaine Ortiz before losing a close decision to Devin Haney in their 2023 undisputed lightweight championship fight.

Davis and Stevenson among possible targets

Lomachenko’s return as a promotional free agent could significantly widen the list of available opponents. His contract with Top Rank now expired, although there remains a possibility he could continue working with the company on a fight-by-fight basis.

A fight with Davis is expected to immediately re-enter discussion given the history attached to the matchup. The contest was one of boxing’s longest-running lightweight debates during Lomachenko’s championship reign and remained viable until his injury-related hiatus halted negotiations. Davis remains one of the division’s biggest commercial attractions despite a turbulent period marked by inactivity, legal issues and failed rematch talks.

A showdown with Shakur Stevenson may be even more compelling stylistically, though it also presents major risk for Lomachenko at this stage of his career. Stevenson spent years publicly pursuing the fight while both operated under the Top Rank banner and has repeatedly referred to it as the “one that got away.”

Unlike the Davis matchup, however, Stevenson is now entering his physical prime while Lomachenko would be returning following a long layoff at 38 years old. Even so, the growing financial influence surrounding Stevenson through Saudi-backed events and Zuffa’s involvement in boxing could create the kind of offer substantial enough to tempt Lomachenko into one final elite-level run.

For now, Lomachenko’s comeback plans remain in the early stages, but his availability immediately reshapes an exciting lightweight landscape.