AFTER suffering a back injury towards the end of last year, pound-for-pound legend Vasyl Lomachenko has been given additional recovery time ahead of his eagerly awaited comeback.
The 36-year-old returned to the win column last May, dethroning George Kambosos Jr with a punishing 11th-round stoppage to claim his IBF world lightweight title.
But since then, the two-time Olympic gold medallist has been ordered to defend his strap against the winner of Raymond Muratalla and Zaur Abdullaev’s interim title clash.
According to BoxingScene, the pair are expected to collide on May 10 after they were initially slated to headline a Top Rank card on April 5.
With Ramadan lasting until March 29, their original date would have significantly hampered the training of Russian-born contender Abdullaev, 20-1 (12 KOs), so now it would appear that they will instead lock horns just over a month later at the Pechanga Arena, San Diego.
Muratalla, 22-0 (17 KOs), comes off a second-round finish over Muratalla, which followed his somewhat contentious unanimous decision victory over former world champion Tevin Farmer.
In any case, the 28-year-old has earned himself a fourth-place ranking with the IBF, while Abdullaev sits at number two after amassing nine wins since his defeat to Devin Haney back in 2019.
Roger Gutierrez and Jorge Linares are among the names on his resume, with the 30-year-old having firmly launched himself back into the mix.
Lomachenko, 18-3 (12 KOs), meanwhile, must now focus on making a full recovery before defending his red and gold belt against the newly-crowned interim titlist later this year.
