-
Mike Coppinger, ESPN Boxing Insider
Talks between Gervonta Davis and Vasiliy Lomachenko have broken off, an official involved in the negotiations told ESPN, after Lomachenko decided to take off the rest of 2024.
The highly anticipated lightweight title unification between Davis (one of boxing’s top stars) and Lomachenko (a future Hall of Famer) was being eyed for November in Las Vegas.
Officials from PBC, which represents Davis, and Lomachenko’s promoter Top Rank met last week in Las Vegas as they attempted to finalize a deal for an ESPN-Prime Video PPV, sources said.
Lomachenko, 36, plans to return in 2025 to defend his IBF 135-pound title, the official said. The two-time Olympic gold medalist won the title in May with an 11th-round TKO victory over George Kambosos in Australia.
The fight was Lomachenko’s first since a disputed decision loss to Devin Haney the previous May. Ukraine’s Lomachenko (18-3, 12 KOs) also won titles at 126 and 130 pounds.
“Loma is not in the mood right now. He doesn’t have the motivation at the moment,” Lomachenko’s manager, Egis Klimas, told boxing reporter Steve Kim on Friday. “He’s taking off. He wants to spend more time with the family. … With Loma, just money is not what motivates him.
“He doesn’t take anything just because of money. You can offer him millions, tens of millions of dollars — if he doesn’t have motivation, he’s not ready to prepare for the fight.”
Davis, meanwhile, will have to explore options for his fall title defense. The 29-year-old from Baltimore is ESPN’s No. 8 pound-for-pound boxer.
Davis (30-0, 28 KOs) retained his WBA lightweight title last month with a highlight-reel eighth-round knockout of Frank Martin.
Among Davis’ potential options for the fall: a rematch with Isaac Cruz, who defends his 140-pound title vs. Jose Valenzuela next month; William Zepeda, the No. 1 lightweight contender with all four sanctioning bodies; and Shakur Stevenson, the lightweight champion who is now a promotional free agent.
Davis is ESPN’s top-ranked lightweight while Lomachenko is No. 2.