What’s Next For Vasiliy Lomachenko?

Vasiliy Lomachenko listened to all the chatter speculating his career was on the precipice with retirement looming if he’d lost in Australia to former lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr., and the three-division champion promptly responded with a showing reminiscent of his peak years.

“There’s something about the sport … you create opportunities through your performances,” Lomachenko’s promoter, Top Rank President Todd duBoef, told BoxingScene Monday. “He put on a brilliant performance and this incredible bucket of opportunities is there to evaluate.”

By knocking out Kambosos in his home country with a flurry of 11th-round body shots, Lomachenko (18-3, 12 KOs) won the vacant IBF lightweight belt and moved – at age 36 – toward a smorgasbord of appetizing options for his next bout.

WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis (29-0, 27 KOs), who defends his belt in a Prime Video pay-per-view main event June 15 against unbeaten Frank Martin (18-0, 12 KOs) at MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, posted on X Saturday night that he’s intrigued by the fighter known as “The Matrix.”

Davis posted, “Let me get to Frank first,” indicating he’s willing to fight Lomachenko by year’s end.

That matchup would be a scintillating one, matching the universal skillset of Lomachenko versus the thunderous punching power of “Tank.”

WBC lightweight and three-division champion Shakur Stevenson (21-0, 10 KOs), who defends his WBC belt July 6 against Germany’s Artem Harutyunyan (12-1, 7 KOs) in Newark, N.J., on an ESPN main event, was also quick to call out Lomachenko on X Saturday night:

“This is what I will say: Loma is still a helluva fighter. Skills (were) on display last night and I think he is a special fighter – a one-in-a-lifetime kind of fighter. Hopefully, his team and the higher ups get out (of) the way and let me display my skills against him, because, stylistically, I think it would be the highest skilled fight of all time – two master chess players. Until then, check me out July 6. Y’all forgot how GREAT I AM!”

The Stevenson showdown could be the most likely because Stevenson’s contract with Top Rank expires with the July 6 bout, providing the company the opportunity to offer him an elite-level opponent that can enhance his brand. Boxing is business, after all, and this one makes the most sense of all to keep a talent like Stevenson in the fold.

Another option will materialize Saturday night in San Diego when Mexico’s three-division champion Navarrete (38-1-1. 31 KOs) meets Denys Berinchyk (18-0, 9 KOs) for the vacant WBO lightweight belt.

Navarrete is a -600 favorite against the Ukrainian Berinchyk and he’s likely the easiest bout for Top Rank to make given that he’s under contract with the company and offers Lomachenko a step toward his planned pursuit to stand as the undisputed lightweight champion before he leaves the sport.

DuBoef says while the matchups are tantalizing, he’s hesitant to buy into the post-fight bravado, which is entertaining for the sport, but leaves him reluctant to label it gospel with both Davis and Stevenson still confronting a title defense.

“We all take the bait and bite the hook, but I think it’s all bullsh*t,” duBoef said. “They can [either] come out of their fights saying they’re not ready, or want a gazillion dollars. A ‘Tank’ fight is another option.

“But I have no interest in investing into that cesspool of cyber nonsense that follows these big fights.”

What’s factual, he said, is the revival of Lomachenko, whose career stagnated through narrow losses by decision to current 140-pound champions Teofimo Lopez and Devin Haney, which sandwiched his near year-long support to Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia.

“Loma never stops delivering. Every fight, he shows up offering that gold standard. His skillset is so outstanding,” DuBoef said. “I personally thought he won the Haney fight, and he miscalculated Lopez and started too late. He settled right into his style and took the fight right out of Kambosos and dissected him in ways the others [Lopez and Haney] haven’t.

“It’s the forgivability of the sport that makes it so special. If you give it your all through terrific performances, all of these [critical] opinions dissipate. And when a fighter like Lomachenko understands the finite position of the sport, opportunities are endless.”

DuBoef paid extra attention to explaining that Lomachenko’s next move will be determined by the fighter. That deference is deserved given his talent, professionalism and legacy that includes two Olympic gold medals.

“He can say, ‘I want to do this or that,’ and we’ll work to do everything we can to accommodate him,” DuBoef said. “Loma has earned the right to sit at the head of the table and decide who he wants to fight, and it’s then on us to make those fights happen.”

DuBoef expects Lomachenko to consult with his manager, Egis Klimas, and his father-trainer, Anatoli Lomachenko, before deciding who he’d like most to fight.

“With these three [marquee lightweights] fighting within the next month and a half, Lomachenko will see what style makes the best fight for him. If it’s the most commercially appetizing, too, that’s the sweet spot,” DuBoef said.

Despite the quality of opponents at 135, maybe Lomachenko might also pursue what DuBoef has said would be a dream matchup of Lomachenko vs. four-division champion Naoya Inoue at 126 pounds.

An argument can be made that Lomachenko was at his best in the 126-130 range.

“Inoue is so, so special — the most special fighter I’ve ever seen in this business,” DuBoef said. “Lomachenko’s wheelhouse was 126 and 130 pounds. If he would decide to explore that fight, it’s fantasy boxing.”