Ever since Gervonta “Tank” Davis scored an eighth-round KO win over Frank Martin in June, there were rumors the WBA lightweight champion would be taking on IBF champion Vasyl Lomachenko in a unification bout in his next fight.
Unfortunately for boxing fans, talks between Davis and Lomachenko have broken off, per ESPN’s Mike Coppinger.
According to Coppinger, Lomachenko has decided to take the rest of the year off and will not fight again in 2024.
Long-time boxing writer Steve Kim spoke to Lomachenko’s manager, Egis Klimas, for further context and specifics.
According to Kim, Klimas said, “Loma is not in the mood right now. He doesn’t have the motivation at the moment. He’s taking off. He wants to spend more time with the family. He doesn’t want to do anything until the end of the year. So he’s definitely not coming to the ring until the end of the year.”
According to Klimas, there are other factors besides money for Lomachenko. He has to be motivated; if he’s not, he won’t fight. He did make sure to clarify that Lomachenko hasn’t retired, which is a logical question given his age (36) and the current situation.
If you’ve been paying attention to Lomachenko of late, as another prominent journalist in boxing, Raging Babe has been, this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.
She posted this on X, referencing Lomachenko’s potential struggle to get motivated to fight more following his triumphant victory over George Kambosos Jr. in May.
Lomachenko has had a legendary amateur and professional career. He will go down as one of the best fighters of his era–even if he never boxes again.
When that is the case with any fighter, and there are questions about motivation, it is only natural for fans and others to wonder if we’re at the end. As for Davis, he has plenty of options.
A fight with WBC champion Shakur Stevenson would be massive. The two men have traded barbs on social media for over a year. Stevenson is a free agent after his contract with Top Rank expired following his win over Artem Harutyunyan in July.
Stevenson took to X with the following cryptic post after the news about Lomachenko pulling out spread on social media. The post is lyrics from Eminem’s iconic “Lose Yourself” track.
Was this a message to Davis or a signal of his next move? We’ll likely find out sometime soon, as Stevenson will probably be in action before the end of the year. Davis could also look to fight WBO champion Denys Berinchyk.
The undefeated 36-year-old Ukrainian is fresh off an upset win over Emanuel Navarrete in May. Tank could also fight Isaac Cruz or Teofimo Lopez at 140 pounds.
As Davis’ camp pivots, we’ll likely hear about potential replacements for Lomachenko. While the Ukrainian legend rests the remainder of the year, perhaps we’ll get some indication about his plans for 2025.
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