VASYL Lomachenko was approached as a potential opponent for Gervonta Davis after his controversial clash with Lamont Roach Jr., boxing reporter Keith Idec has revealed.
Davis, 30-0-1 (28 KOs), was fortunate to come away with a draw following a fiercely contested encounter with his former amateur rival last Saturday.
Despite suffering two defeats against ‘Tank’ in the unpaid ranks, Roach, 25-1-2 (10 KOs), nonetheless produced a tremendous performance at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Not only was Davis taken the distance for the third time in his career, but Roach was also denied a career-best victory after a bizarre display from referee Steve Willis.
In the ninth round of their enthralling battle, Willis began to issue a count after the Baltimore bruiser decided to take a knee.
But then, the vastly experienced official ruled it a no-knockdown and ultimately denied Roach a 10-8 round that would have swung the result in his favour.
Shortly after their fight, Davis claimed that the product from his hair had slipped into his eyes, with the burning sensation causing him to take a knee.
At his post-fight press conference, he also teased that, despite widespread clamour for a rematch with Roach, an opponent for his next outing has already been lined up.
Seemingly, the fighter he was alluding to is two-time Olympic gold medallist and IBF world lightweight champion Lomachenko, 18-3 (12 KOs), who has not fought since his victory over George Kambosos Jr last May.
“Probably within [30 minutes] after the [Roach] fight was over, someone from Gervonta Davis’ team approached a Top Rank executive and asked about Vasyl Lomachenko being available for his next fight,” Idec said on The Ariel Helwani Show.
“That fight was supposed to happen on November 2 [last year] at the MGM Grand Garden Arena [Las Vegas].
“The deal was almost done, except for the fact that Loma didn’t sign off on it and then decided that he would maybe want to retire.
“Loma is still unavailable until Top Rank [Lomachenko’s promoter] is told otherwise, so that’s not an option for [Davis] even though he wants that fight.”
Since then, WBA lightweight titlist Davis has expressed his interest in a rematch with Roach, and while Lomachenko’s future remains uncertain, it would appear that either matchup could potentially materialise.
