By: Sean Crose

No one can question a fighter’s courage. Fighter’s literally put their lives on the line every time they enter the ring (or the octagon). So no, fighters aren’t afraid to fight, at least not in combat sports. Former lightweight kingpin Vasyl Lomachenko, however, has gone a step further, returning to his beleaguered Ukrainian homeland to do his part for his country. Word emerged last week that Loma, as he’s known, might get a pass from the Ukrainian government in order to face titlist George Kambosos on the fifth of June. It proved to be untrue, as it’s now been made clear that Loma will stay on in Ukraine as the bloody Russian invasion continues.

“We have nothing but the utmost respect for his decision,” ESPN quotes Kambosos’ promoter, Lou Dibella, as saying. “Kambosos wanted to make sure once we made that deal that Lomachenko had ample time to decide.” In the meantime, Kambosos, who surprised a whole lot of people when he bested Lomachenko conqueror Teofimo Lopez last November, has set his sights on another opponent of note. Now that it’s no longer likely he’ll face Lomachenko in his near future, Kambosos’ eyes have turned to fellow lightweight titlist, Devin Haney for a unification battle. Haney has wanted big competition for a while, and Kambosos, who is now viewed as something of a giant killer, is most certainly that.

Haney was reportedly offered the Kambosos fight on Monday. Should it happen, the bout would likely go down June 5th at Marvel Stadium in Australia, which is Kambosos’ homeland. Needless to say, Haney and Kambosos engaged in Twitter jibes Monday, which may be sincere, or which may help build the fight. “Loma now has a bigger fight,” Kambosos said to Haney – via social media, of course – “which I totally respect so let’s see how much of your word is true.” For his own part, Haney made it clear Monday he’s more than eager to take the fight.

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