By Yuri Tarantin
27-year-old Vasyl Lomachenko (4-1, 2KOs) of Ukraine is still being positioned to make a defense of his WBO featherweight championship in the fall.
Lomachenko was initially being mentioned as a likely candidate for Top Rank's planned event in Dubai. That plan may have changed as the champion's manager, Egis Klimas, says HBO is ready to set down a televised date for Lomachenko in November - for a big fight.
He made a defense of his title on May 2nd, as part of the undercard to the biggest event in boxing history, Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao. He stopped Gamalier Rodriguez in the ninth round of action at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
"Just the other day I was talking to [Top Rank CEO] Bob Arum, and he said that HBO is ready to provide a date for Vasyl Lomachenko. Not just a date, but it would be for a major fight. The most difficult thing is to find an opponent. As for Vasyl, he does not want to box against little known opponents. He wants to fight with the big names. The whole team of Top Rank is considering every option for Vasyl to return to the ring in November," Klimas said.
Yuri Taratin covers boxing for Allboxing.ru.