By Steve Kim
WBA lightweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko (11-1, 9 KOs) caused a bit of a stir last week on social media when he stated that he'd be ''back'' on August 25th, which was supposed to be the date of his next fight after defeating Jorge Linares on May 12th at the Madison Square Garden in New York City.
He was being lined up for a potential unification with WBO world champion Raymundo Beltran.
But those plans were scuttled as Lomachenko tore his right rotator cuff and had to undergo surgery.
His manager, Egis Klimas clarified those comments, "he posted, 'I'm coming back on August 25th' - it doesn't mean he's coming back to the ring, right? He might be coming back to the United States on August 25th.
"He's recovering very well, he's already shadow-boxing, which I think the doctor will be very mad about when he finds out about it. But he's already shadow-boxing he's doing some work but not putting too much pressure (on his shoulder). He's going to the recovery center, he's got people working on the rehabilitation for his shoulder."
Lomachenko, already a three-division champion after just a dozen professional bouts is considered one of the elite performers in the sport.
"I think we're going to see him back in August, September preparing for his next fight," explained Klimas of his return to competition. "We're talking about December 1st, December 8th somewhere in the beginning of December."
One name being mentioned by his promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank, is Manny Pacquiao. The Filipino star returned to the ring this past Saturday night in Malaysia, where he knocked out Lucas Matthysse to capture the WBA "regular" welterweight title. It was Pacquiao's first stoppage victory since 2009, and the first time he's fought since the July 2017 defeat to Jeff Horn.
Steve Kim is the news editor for BoxingScene.com
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