Vasyl Lomachenko turns down a world-title shot at lightweight king George Kambosos Jr to stay and fight off Russian troops on the Ukrainian front line… as the champion pays respect to his rival by insisting he ‘totally understands’ his decision
- Vasyl Lomachenko has returned home to Ukraine to join the fight against Russia
- The former three-weight world champion enlisted in Ukraine’s territorial army
- He was in line for a shot at lightweight chief George Kambosos Jr before doing so
- But Lomachenko has snubbed his crack at world honours to defend his country
- Kambosos has heaped praise on his rival and urged him to ‘stay safe’ on Twitter
Vasyl Lomachenko has turned down a shot at unified lightweight world champion George Kambosos Jr to stay and defend Ukraine on the country’s front line.
Lomachenko, a former three-weight champion and pound-for-pound master, returned home to enlist in Ukraine’s territorial army and help fight off invading Russian troops last month.
The 34-year-old is not the only high-profile boxer to have swapped battles in the ring for a war on the vanguard, with world heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk and legendary brothers Wladimir and Vitaly Klitschko also joining the fight.
After returning back to his home city of Odessa from Greece via Bucharest in Romania, Lomachenko shared a photo on his Facebook page dressed in military uniform.
He also shared a message from local mayor Vitaly Hrazhdan, which read: ‘The Belgorod-Dniester Territorial Defense Battalion has been formed and armed. Boxer Vasyl Lomachenko is in the defense.’
Lomachenko’s bid to become a four-time world champion has been put on hold amid Ukraine’s ongoing efforts to thwart Russian forces from invading the country.
The slick southpaw was in line for a clash with Kambosos Jr, who currently sits on top of the lightweight throne after ripping three of the four recognised titles from Teofimo Lopez’s grasp back in November.
Vasyl Lomachenko has turned down a shot at unified lightweight chief George Kambosos Jr
Lomachenko is currently back home in Ukraine helping his country fight off Russian troops
He was set to meet Kambosos, who dethroned 135lbs champion Teofimo Lopez in November
His team were said to be drawing up plans to pull him out of Ukraine and begin preparations for his next world-title challenge in the summer, but Lomachenko is instead refusing to leave his country at its time of need.
Kambosos Jr will therefore turn his attention to an undisputed showdown with Devin Haney, who holds the last remaining strap at 135lbs, yet he was quick to pay his respects to Lomachenko on social media.
‘I respect your decision and I totally understand and I pray for you and your country,’ the Australian tweeted. ‘Please stay safe and once I wipe the floor with Devin, we will make this fight between two real champions. God bless’.
Lomachenko’s decision to snub a crack at Kambosos could influence close pal Usyk’s thinking in regards to a potential rematch with Anthony Joshua this summer.
Usyk is contractually obliged to meet Joshua for a second time after dethroning the unified heavyweight champion back in September, however their proposed rematch is now in doubt amid the war in Ukraine.
Lomachenko has turned down the fight to instead stay and fight on Ukraine’s front line
Kambosos Jr was fully supportive of his rival and paid tribute to him on social media
Close friend and unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk has also joined the fight
Like Lomachenko, the former undisputed cruiserweight king has returned home to fight for his country, enlisting in the Kyiv Territorial Defence last month.
But Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn expects him to head back to the UK in the coming weeks and go ahead with the rematch.
As reported by talkSPORT, Hearn said: ‘Is AJ vs Usyk happening now? I actually think it will. I actually think that fight will happen next and it will happen in June.’
Should Usyk choose to follow Lomachenko in shelving his boxing plans until the Ukraine war comes to an end, Joshua could instead target a mega-fight with former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder.
Usyk returned home last month to join the Kyiv Territorial Defence and help his country
Kambosos, meanwhile, has already ignited the war of words with revised opponent Haney.
He wrote to the American on Twitter: ‘You were offered [the fight] months ago & you played around.
‘In the meantime the great man Vasyl Lomachenko made it very simple to do anything to make it happen & it was a done deal.
‘But Loma now has a bigger fight atm which I totally respect so let’s see how much of your word is true.’
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