Multi-weight world champion Vasiliy Lomachenko is set to return to the ring after performing a U-turn on his retirement plans — two years after his last fight.
The Ukrainian boxing great, who is a three-weight world champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist, announced his retirement from the sport in June 2025.
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Now Lomachenko, 38, is planning to fight again this year and is a promotional free agent after his contract with Top Rank expired this month, according to a report from The Ring.
He was in discussions about a fight with former lightweight world champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis last year before he opted to retire, feeling unmotivated by the sport and dealing with a back injury.
Lomachenko is now fully fit and has decided to return. He has not competed since he stopped Australia’s George Kambosos Jr. in the 11th round of a May 2024 lightweight world title bout.
That victory improved his professional record to 18-3. He suffered narrow defeats to Orlando Salido, Teofimo Lopez and Devin Haney in his career to date.
Lomachenko is regarded as one of the great fighters of this era. He amassed quite a remarkable 396-1 record in the amateurs, winning world, European and Olympic honours for his country.
The southpaw is renowned for his hand speed, his eye-catching footwork and his ability to find angles for punches, which can leave opponents bamboozled.
He turned professional after the 2012 London Olympics and won the WBO featherweight championship in just his third fight, beating Gary Russell Jr. via majority decision in June 2014. That came after he lost to Salido for a world title in just his second professional outing.
He added the WBO junior lightweight title with a victory over Roman Martinez two years later. And in 2018, he stopped tough Venezuelan Jorge Linares to secure the WBA lightweight belt, before also winning the WBO and WBC straps in that division.
Lomachenko’s team is expected to announce his next move in the coming weeks as they finalise plans for his comeback, with no promoter confirmed yet.
Lomachenko’s return brings mixed emotions
Lomachenko’s return comes as a surprise, given he appeared content in retirement, but there will be no shortage of suitors to sign him.
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There will still be a feeling of “Why come back?” from the boxing fraternity, given his past achievements and the sense that he has little left to prove at age 38. There is also concern that Lomachenko, as a fighter who relied heavily upon his quite astounding reflexes during his prime, could tarnish his legacy if he appears diminished in his return.
Maybe he has seen his compatriot and close friend, heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, continue to shine well into his 30s while earning huge sums from Saudi Arabian-backed events, and believes he can get back to the top in the lighter weights.
Those close to Lomachenko have always said he felt frustrated that he never became an undisputed champion in any of the divisions in which he won world titles. His 2020 bout with Lopez, which had three of the four world titles on the line, was regarded as the bout to decide the best in the lightweight division, but he came up just short on points.
It will be interesting to see who he pursues as an opponent and in what division he competes.
The bigger names from two years ago — such as Shakur Stevenson and Haney — have moved up in weight. Meanwhile, Davis has been inactive as he was arrested in January on charges including battery and attempted kidnapping following an alleged domestic violence incident.
Lomachenko’s return will offer another chance to a historic fighter in action, but it could also become another story of a potentially faded champion who couldn’t stay away from the sport.