By Sean Jones: Vasyl Lomachenko is reportedly looking to get permission to leave the warzone in Ukraine to train for a fight against undisputed lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr. on June 5th in Melbourne, Australia.
The former three-division world champion Lomachenko recently joined the territorial defense battalion to help defend Ukraine against the Russian invasion.
Lomachenko (16-2, 11 KOs) will need permission from the officials with the Ukrainian government to leave the country; however because they’re at war with Russia, they require all men from 18 to 60 to defend the country.
Ukraine is a smaller country than Russia, and its military isn’t anywhere near as large or as equipped with arms.
The idea is for Lomachenko to leave Ukraine to train for eight weeks for the fight with the unbeaten Kambosos (20-0, 10 KOs). Afterward, Lomachenko will likely return to Ukraine and continue to defend his country.
For him to be given an exception to leave at this time, it could prove difficult. With the way the war is going, a lot can change in two months if Lomachenko stays out of the country for that long, taking a fight against Kambosos.
If Lomachenko isn’t granted permission to leave Ukraine, WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney will be one of the options Kambosos’s promoter Lou DiBella will be looking at for his June 5th fight.
Haney’s boxing fans feel that he should be given the fight with Kambosos because he holds the WBC title, and they believe that he’s earned the shot.
That being said, it makes more sense in terms of the financial picture for Kambosos to take an easy voluntary defense against one of the bottom feeders in the rankings.
Another option would be for Kambosos to fight Ryan Garcia next if he wins his April 9th fight against Emmanuel Tagoe.
Ryan (21-0, 18 KOs) has a far bigger fanbase than Haney (27-0, 15 KOs) and would be able to market his fight with Kambosos to his 8.7 million Instagram followers and 1.16 million subscribers on YouTube.
It’s a no-brainer for Kambosos to take the fight with Ryan Garcia if Lomachenko cannot leave Ukraine.
Haney’s fans won’t be happy if Kambosos takes on Ryan, obviously, but you can’t blame him if he chooses to make that move.
If this is the one opportunity that Kambosos has to set himself and his family up for life and to make millions, he shouldn’t feel obligated to fight Haney for less money just because he and his fans want that fight.
Naturally, if Kambosos had the talent that Lomachenko possessed and was seen as someone who would stay on top for many years, it would make sense for him to fight Haney.
That’s not the case, though. It’s fair to say that Kambosos is an accidental champion, a fighter that wouldn’t be a four-belt champion today if not for Teofimo Lopez being injured, ring-rusty, and possibly weight drained last November when the two fought.
“It’s a very unique, personal, emotional situation, and I don’t think we can really fathom what’s going on there and what’s going through the minds of people involved there,” Haney’s promoter Eddie Hearn said to ESPN.