After watching his undisputed world title dreams slip through his fingers, Vasiliy Lomachenko dusted himself off and worked his way back up the ranks. With the former two-time Olympic gold medalist racking up back-to-back victories since his close but clear defeat at the hands of Teofimo Lopez in 2020, George Kambosos Jr., who held the WBO, WBA, and IBF lightweight titles, selected him as a mandatory title defense.

Yet, with Lomachenko opting against accepting his offer, the 34-year-old packed his bags and aided his native land of Ukraine as they fought against the ongoing Russian invasion.

In the meanwhile, Devin Haney happily stepped in for the former multi-divisional champion and would make the most of his unexpected opportunity, reeling off two consecutive wins against the Aussie product. While their sequel was increasingly one-sided, Lomachenko viewed their recent rematch as incredibly captivating and Haney as overwhelmingly impressive.  

“I like it,” said Lomachenko to ESNEWS. “It was a very, very good job. He was more technical, he was more adaptive than Kambosos.”

Having closed the door on his lopsided rivalry against Kambosos, the 23-year-old will now kick his feet up and relax as he awaits his impending opponent. As for who could be next to challenge him, Lomachenko (16-2, 11 KOs) is hopeful that he’ll be given the call. But before the Ukrainian sets his sights on Haney, he’ll look to dismiss his upcoming foe, Jamaine Ortiz.

The two will officially square off on October 29th, in Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater. Should everything go according to plan and Lomachenko snags his third consecutive win, Bob Arum, both Haney and Lomachenko’s current promoter, will look to place the pair in the ring in the first half of 2023, with the winner taking on Shakur Stevenson in the immediate aftermath.  

Although becoming an undisputed champion is something that Lomachenko craves, he can only hope that he’ll be given the opportunity to take on Haney after the 29th of October.

“I hope so.”