After losing his lightweight titles to Teofimo Lopez Jr. last October, Ukrainian boxer Vasyl Lomachenko is targeting a return to the ring this summer. ESPN reported the news on March 24, 2021.
Lomachenko is expected to fight Masayoshi Nakatani, a Japanese boxer with a 19-1 (13 KOs) record. The date and venue of this fight are still not known.
The news is not surprising, as Lomachenko’s promoter Bob Arum had already stated the possibility of Lomachenko-Nakatani in February 2021.
“He’s tired of fighting in bubbles. He’s a big ticket-seller, so we think we can do a big fight: early summer in the United States, maybe against the Japanese boy [Masayoshi] Nakatani,” Bob Arum told iFL TV in February 2021.
Arum added: “Nakatani is a really hard-punching lightweight, and we’re looking towards him as the opponent for Lomachenko.”
Besides the power, Vasyl Lomachenko will also be at a 6-inch height and reach disadvantage. Nakatani’s only loss came through Teofimo Lopez Jr., the same man who handed Vasyl his second-ever pro loss.
Nakatani has re-entered the win column since his loss to Lopez Jr. He is coming off a TKO win over Felix Verdejo.
Is “Loma” vs. Haney Dead?
A few weeks back, “Loma” responded to WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney’s call-out. The duo had an intense back and forth on social media and had fans excited for a moment. Unfortunately, Haney signed a contract to fight Jorge Linares, and with Lomachenko vs. Nakatani in the works, it seems like Devin Haney vs. Vasyl Lomachenko is dead for now.
