Lomachenko Unretires — Fall 2026 Return Targeted As Free Agent

• Vasiliy Lomachenko ends his year-long retirement and targets a fall 2026 return — back condition that forced his exit has reportedly improved
• His Top Rank contract expired on May 12 — Loma is now a free agent and shopping for the biggest available fight, no tune-ups
• Gervonta "Tank" Davis remains the dream commercial opponent — talks pre-date Loma's retirement and could now reopen as the most lucrative fight in the sport at 135

The Best Technician Of His Generation Is Back

Make no mistake — this is huge. Vasiliy Lomachenko at 38 years old is still, on any list of pound-for-pound talents that doesn't read like a beauty contest, one of the best fighters alive. The footwork, the angles, the timing, the way he turns opponents into corners they didn't know existed — there's nobody in boxing who does what Loma does. The only reason he wasn't still active was that his back went, and his back has reportedly gone the right way again. Coppinger's reporting is clear. Loma has been training. His back has improved. He wants to fight in the fall. He doesn't want a tune-up. He doesn't want a filler. He wants a big fight, and his team are sniffing around for the right one. That changes the lightweight division overnight. Tank Davis, Devin Haney, Shakur Stevenson, William Zepeda, even Andy Cruz — none of these fighters can pretend they don't see Loma in the rear-view mirror now. The schoolmaster is out of retirement, and the kids who've been running the division while he was away have to deal with him again.

Why Now?

Let's not beat around the bush. Three reasons. First — health. Loma never wanted to retire. He retired because his back wouldn't let him train at the level he demands of himself. That problem has eased. So the door cracked open. Second — money. His Top Rank deal expired on May 12. He's a free agent for the first time in his pro career. Turki Alalshikh has been throwing eight-figure cheques at far less storied names. There is absolutely a Riyadh Season Loma fight available right now for proper money. He'd be foolish not to walk through that door, and Loma is not foolish. Third — legacy. He's 38. The window is closing. He last fought Kambosos in May 2024, stopping him to win the IBF lightweight title. That was a brilliant performance, vintage Loma, and walking away from boxing on that note was always going to feel unfinished. He still has the Tank fight on his record as an asterisk — the bout that nearly happened twice and never quite landed. He wants that fight. So does the sport.

The Tank Davis Question

Gervonta Davis at lightweight remains the biggest fight in the sport not involving a heavyweight. Tank fought Lamont Roach to a controversial draw, then dispatched Roach in the rematch in March. He's been linked to a return against Cruz, a Stevenson superfight, a Garcia rematch, and now potentially the dream Loma fight that boxing has been calling for since 2022. The Loma-Tank fight has a peculiar history. It was rumoured, it was teased, Loma's team confirmed talks, then Loma's back gave out and the fight evaporated. Both sides have publicly said they wanted it. The version of Loma that walks into the ring this fall won't be the 2018 vintage that nobody could touch. But he'll be plenty good enough to make Tank uncomfortable, and that's all the storyline needs. A 38-year-old Loma giving Tank twelve rounds of technical clinic, win or lose, is the fight of the year regardless of outcome. The bookies will favour Tank. They should. But anyone who watched Loma dismantle Kambosos at 36 knows the punch resistance and ring smarts haven't gone anywhere. If anything, the year out has probably extended his career by a year or two.

The Haney Angle Nobody's Talking About

Here's the under-discussed angle. Devin Haney beat Loma on points in 2023 in one of the most controversial decisions of recent years. Most of the boxing world thought Loma won. Loma certainly thought Loma won. Haney spent the next eighteen months campaigning at 140, lost some, won some, and is now back at lightweight chasing belts. A Haney rematch would, frankly, be brilliant for both men. Haney gets the chance to silence the doubters who still think he was gifted the first one. Loma gets the chance to formally collect a debt. The sanctioning bodies would have no excuse to block it — neither has a binding mandatory. And the British and American boxing media would have a field day with the rematch storylines. Tank first, Haney second — that's the dream sequence. Whether the politics allow it is anyone's guess. Boxing being boxing, we'll probably get Loma against an interim title holder nobody's heard of and then talk ourselves into it being a great fight. Hope not. Hope the man gets what he came back for.

The Verdict

The lightweight division was already the deepest in boxing. Now it has Loma in it again. Get Tank or Haney across the table by August, get a date and a venue locked in for October or November, and let boxing have its moment. Welcome back, Loma. Boxing missed you more than it realised.