Vasiliy Lomachenko is unretiring. The former three-division world champion announced his return to professional boxing on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026, ending a retirement that lasted 17 months, MMA Mania reported. He’s coming back with a business card of his own. Lomachenko formed Loma Power Promotions and signed a multi-year co-promotional partnership with Top Rank, his longtime promoter.
The twist is the scale. Lomachenko, 38, is dropping back to super featherweight, the division where he once held the WBO title, instead of wading back into the crowded mess at 135. The goal is the one thing missing from a resume that has almost everything else: becoming an undisputed champion. He’s expected to fight again in early 2027.
Lomachenko gave the religious explanation in a press release. “I thought I would never step back into the ring again as a boxer,” he said. “But our Lord Jesus Christ had other plans for me.”
How He Got Here
Lomachenko walked away in June 2025 with an 18-3 record and 12 knockouts. His last fight came more than a year before that announcement, when he stopped George Kambosos Jr. in Round 11 to win the vacant IBF lightweight title. Before Kambosos, there was Devin Haney in May 2023. Lomachenko challenged Haney for the undisputed lightweight championship and lost a unanimous decision that a lot of people still call controversial. That was his shot at the four-belt dream, and the cards took it from him.
Thursday’s official announcement didn’t include an opponent or a date. According to The Ring, though, Lomachenko could be back as soon as Feb. 13, 2027, against undefeated contender Charly Suarez. If he gets through Suarez, a fight with unified champion O’Shaquie Foster later in the year becomes the obvious next step.
The calendar is the obvious concern. Lomachenko turns 39 in February and will have been out of competition for nearly three years by the time he returns. The counterargument is his pedigree, which is borderline absurd: a reported 396-1 amateur record, two Olympic gold medals and a pro world title in his third fight. Most guys need a decade to collect what he had by fight three.
My take: I’m thrilled, and I’m not pretending otherwise. Lomachenko at his best was the most fun technician of his generation, the guy who made elite fighters look like they were standing in wet cement. Dropping to 130 is the smartest version of this comeback. He was always a little undersized at lightweight, and the Haney loss proves he could hang there without ever really owning the place. Suarez is a real test, an unbeaten contender and no hand-picked tune-up, and I respect him for taking it first. Beat Suarez on Feb. 13, then go get Foster. If the footwork and angles are still there, Loma gets the undisputed run he was robbed of chasing in 2023.
