Egis Klimas on Lomachenko: "There May Be Good News Soon"

Egis Klimas, manager of IBF and IBO lightweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko, has provided an update on whether the Ukrainian star will continue his boxing career.

– There were rumors that Lomachenko might retire, then news came about a back injury. What’s the latest update?

– I actually spoke with him this morning, and he’s feeling good. He had a minor back injury, but he’s already recovering.

He’s starting to train again, and maybe in a month or two, we’ll have very good news—either he’s coming back, or he’s retiring. We don’t know yet.

But according to IBF rules, he has time until October to decide since Zaur Abdullaev will fight Raymond Muratalla for the mandatory challenger spot. After that, we’ll know more.

– You know Lomachenko better than almost anyone. If you had to guess, is he leaning more toward retirement or a return?

– No decision has been made yet. Neither Papachenko (his father and trainer) nor Loma himself has made up their mind.

Like I said, I spoke to him this morning, he’s feeling good, and he’s back to training—but we don’t know what’s next. We’ll see.

– Would you be surprised if he retires?

– No, not at all. If he decides to walk away, I won’t be surprised.

He’s been burned in professional boxing before. When you know you won a fight, but the judges give it to the other guy—that hurts. It kills your motivation.

Lomachenko has not fought since his victory over George Kambosos in spring 2024. His next move remains uncertain.