HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – Vasiliy Lomachenko has campaigned as a 135-pound fighter over the course of his last eight bouts dating back to 2018.

The Ukrainian has had tremendous success in the division, unifying three versions of the lightweight title before losing them to Teofimo Lopez Jr. in 2020.

After also winning world titles at 126 and 130 pounds, Lomachenko has predominantly been the smaller fighter against opposition at the lightweight limit. 

The 35-year-old Lomachenko (17-2, 11 KOs) will again be the smaller fighter when he takes on undisputed champion Devin Haney (29-0, 15 KOs) on May 20 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on ESPN+ pay-per-view. 

Haney is listed at 5 feet 8 inches, which is only one inch taller than Lomachenko on the tale of the tape, but when they eventually come face to face, a rehydrated Haney will appear considerably bigger. 

Haney has alluded to a move to 140 pounds because it’s increasingly becoming more difficult for him to make 135 pounds.

When Lomachenko was asked if he too would consider moving up to 140 pounds for a chance to avenge his loss to Lopez, the two-time Olympics gold medalist (57 KG, 60 KG) immediately pumped the brakes on the thought. 

“One hundred thirty-five, everybody knows, it’s not my weight class. And I can't do 140. After that, you ask me about Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, so sorry,” Lomachenko said in an interview with BoxingScene.com and other reporters.

In what appears to be a fantasy fight for now, Lomachenko was also asked if he would go back down to 126 pounds to possibly fight Top Rank stablemate Naoya Inoue, the former 118-pound undisputed champion who has yet to make his 122-pound debut. 

“Maybe [I would fight Inoue]. I forgot how to make weight,” said Lomachenko. “I need to try to make 126. But of course, it's always interesting fighting top fighters near our weight classes … I've seen his fights. He has power. He's a top fighter.”  

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.