Who Could Be Vasiliy Lomachenko’s Next Opponent?

After losing his lightweight gold, Vasiliy Lomachenko may have his next opponent on tap soon.

Lomachenko hasn’t been in action since his upset loss to Teofimo Lopez back in October 2020. He lost the WBA (Super), WBO, The Ring, and WBC (Franchise) Titles in the process. It’s just the second defeat in Lomachenko’s pro boxing career.

Many have been wondering where “Loma” will go from here. There was no rematch clause for the Lomachenko vs. Lopez fight, so “The Takeover” is moving on. It looks like we have a possible answer for the direction of Lomachenko.

During a chat with the folks at iFL TV, Top Rank Boxing’s Bob Arum revealed that Masayoshi Nakatani is the frontrunner to face Lomachenko sometime this summer (via Michael Benson).

Bob Arum has revealed that Vasyl Lomachenko vs Masayoshi Nakatani is being eyed as the comeback fight for Loma this summer. Nakatani was an awkward test for Teofimo Lopez and recovered from that loss by knocking out Felix Verdejo last year. [@IFLTV] pic.twitter.com/zeuyzQSRQw

— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) February 11, 2021

“Bob Arum has revealed that Vasiliy Lomachenko vs Masayoshi Nakatani is being eyed as the comeback fight for Loma this summer. Nakatani was an awkward test for Teofimo Lopez and recovered from that loss by knocking out Felix Verdejo last year.”

Nakatani is fresh off a TKO victory over Felix Verdejo. The victory improved his record to 19-1 with 13 of those victories coming by way of knockout. Nakatani also suffered a defeat to Lopez but many argue that he gave “The Takeover” his toughest test to date.

Lomachenko has never lost two fights in a row. Nakatani would have the chance to change that if he does indeed get to fight “Loma.”

Stick with FIGHT SPORTS for the latest updates regarding Vasiliy Lomachenko’s next fight as they become available.