Ukrainian three-division world champion Vasiliy Lomachenko is scheduled to travel to the United States this week to be briefed by Top Rank chairman Bob Arum and Lomachenko's manager Egis Klimas regarding negotiations for his next bout, Arum told Boxing Scene on Sunday.
Representatives for Lomachenko (18-3, 12 KOs) and fellow three-division world champion and current lightweight titleholder Gervonta “Tank” Davis (30-0, 28 KOs) are in negotiations for a unification fight before the end of the year.
Arum said he visited Klimas at a restaurant in Southern California on the evening of July 4 and was informed that Lomachenko, 36, was coming to the United States “to discuss the Tank fight.”
Lomachenko has wanted to fight Davis for more than five years.
The veteran fighter defeated former unified champion George Kambosos by 11th round TKO to win the IBF lightweight belt in May, Lomachenko's most impressive performance in years.
Arum and Top Rank executive Carl Moretti denied speculation in a recent Instagram post by Davis co-trainer Kenny Ellis that Lomachenko would “step aside” to allow WBA champion Davis to fight unbeaten WBC lightweight titleholder Shakur Stevenson (22-0, 10 KOs) next, with Lomachenko waiting for the winner in 2025.
The 27-year-old Stevenson, from Newark, New Jersey, is a three-division champion and 2016 U.S. Olympic silver medalist. He won a unanimous decision over Artem Harutyunyan in his homecoming bout on Saturday night in his final fight under his current contract with Top Rank.
“Let's not be too hasty about this. These people are lying,” Arum said of Ellis' post.
Moretti added: “So some bucket carrier is saying that Roma doesn't want to play right now? That doesn't make sense.”
While Stevenson has struggled to capture fans' attention with his defensive style, two-time Olympic gold medalist Lomachenko has won a title in just his second fight and has since had a string of high-profile bouts, including big bouts against world champions Teofimo Lopez and Devin Haney.
Meanwhile, Moretti said top lightweight contender William Cepeda’s attempt to fight new WBO belt-holder Denis Belinczyk next was “in doubt.”
After Cepeda knocked out Giovanni Cabrera in the third round on Saturday night in Ontario, California, Cepeda's promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, said he would pursue a title fight with Berinczyk.
Arum said he would like to see 2020 U.S. silver medalist and top-ranked young lightweight Keyshawn Davis take on Belincik.
