Vasiliy Lomachenko turns down world title fight to stay and fight in Ukraine

Vasiliy Lomachenko has turned down the opportunity to fight for a world title to stay in Ukraine and fight.

The 34-year-old pro boxer - who is a three-weight world champion and widely regarded as one of the greatest stars in the sport - had been in talks to fight lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr. in Australia later this year but will reportedly stay in his home country after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an ongoing military invasion on the country at the end of February.

His promoter Lou DiBella told Boxing Scene: "I spoke to [his manager] Egis Klimas and he confirmed that Loma would not be available to fight George next. He thanked me and thanked Kambosos for giving him ample opportunity to make up his mind, and he thanked us for doing the deal in the first place."

DiBella went on to explain that despite the Ukrainian government granting permission for the boxing star to fight for the title, his team "had an inkling" he may pull out when they did not receive an immediate clear response.

He said; "We had an inkling the other day, when the [Ukrainian] government had said it was OK [for Lomachenko to fight], but we didn’t hear an affirmative response [from Lomachenko], we had a sense that this was likely. So, we were not shocked.

Egis confirmed today that he’s gonna stay in the Ukraine. We commend him. We think the fight he’s fighting is much bigger than boxing. And our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family, and with the Ukrainian people. What they’re going through obviously is far more significant than any boxing match."