Ukrainian IBF and IBO lightweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko (18-3, 12 KOs) confessed that he had planned to end his professional career after losing to WBC super lightweight champion Devin Haney (31-1, 15 KOs).
"This title is for him, because after the loss to Haney I wanted to end my boxing career. I didn’t need it anymore. After the fight with Haney, I had proved everything to myself in boxing, and I didn’t need to continue.
But every day, my father would send me news about me, highlights from my latest fights. I felt that he wanted to continue, to reclaim the title. He told me, 'Hey, we need to do this again. We need to fight for the title again.' It was a tough decision for me because I was tired. But I love my family and my father," Lomachenko said.
Vasyl Lomachenko and Devin Haney met in May last year, with the undisputed lightweight world championship on the line. The American won by unanimous decision, but experts and fans have frequently questioned this decision.
On May 12th, Lomachenko achieved an early victory over George Kambosos and became the IBF and IBO lightweight champion.