Vasyl Lomachenko will never return to professional boxing. His decision to leave the sport after disputing his last match at the age of 36 is final. Now 37, Loma wanted to explain the reason that pushed him to retire at a time when many still believed he had what it took to achieve major accomplishments on the international stage.
During an interview, as shown in a video clip recently released by the WBO’s official account, Lomachenko answered as follows when asked when he made the decision to hang up the gloves:
Even before the fight with Kambosos, I already wanted to be done with boxing, because my goal was to become the undisputed world champion, and after the fight with Haney I understood that I wasn’t going to have the opportunity to achieve it because it takes a lot of time. That was my motivation, and I lost it. I realized I couldn’t become the undisputed world champion. At that point, inside myself, I was done with boxing. But my father wanted to try again. He called me and said: “We have to do it one more time, you can do it.” He gave me a life in boxing, a life that gave me everything I have. So, out of respect, I stepped into the ring one more time. I did it for the love I have for my father. I did it out of respect for him.
The decision to call it quits was therefore formed in the Ukrainian champion’s heart immediately after the painful defeat of May 20, 2023, which prevented him from laying claim to all four lightweight world titles.
On that occasion, Loma failed to convince the three judges of his superiority over Devin Haney and was declared defeated by unanimous decision. Many journalists and insiders expressed doubts about the verdict, especially regarding judge Dave Moretti’s scorecard, which gave Haney a four-point lead and even awarded the American the tenth round—a round largely dominated by Lomachenko.
Many fans hoped to see Loma once again on the big stage after his excellent victory over George Kambosos, whom he stopped in the eleventh round of a one-sided fight despite the hostile crowd. But clearly, the Ukrainian fighter no longer had within him that sacred fire that keeps a boxer’s motivation alive and allows him to perform at his best.