Negotiations are back on between lightweight world champions Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis and Vasily Lomachenko for a November unification contest.
The fight will have WBA lightweight champion Tank Davis (30-0, 28 KOs) and IBF champ Lomachenko (18-3, 12 KOs) meeting in a two-belt unification contest at 135 in what could be the biggest money-maker this year on PPV.
Bob Arum Confirms Ongoing Negotiations
According to boxing insider Dan Rafael, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum has confirmed that the negotiations are underway, building fans’ interest in seeing Tank Davis take the toughest test of his career against the two-time Olympic gold medalist and former three-division world champion Lomachenko.
The fight is expected to occur in November or December, depending on the length of the negotiations. As Arum points out, Gervonta and his management want the fight, and Lomachenko is interested in returning to the ring to take on the Baltimore native.
A Formidable Challenge for Tank
It’s a hard fight for Tank, who will need to brush up on his technical skills to have a chance of beating Lomachenko. This isn’t the type of opponent that he can give away seven or eight rounds to, and he expects to pull out a knockout in the final quarter to get the win.
Gervonta’s recent win, he fell behind early and came back to stop challenger Frank Martin in the eighth round on June 15th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Tank has been criticized by fans for stalling the fight with Lomachenko for the last seven years after being called out initially in 2017.
Some boxing fans believe that Tank waited until Loma turned 36 before finally letting his management know he was ready to face the talented Lomachenko. If this is true, it’s sad and pathetic, signaling that Tank isn’t the fighter that some had thought.
Lomachenko is coming off an 11th-round knockout win over former unified lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr. on May 12th in Perth, Australia. The vacant IBF 135-lb title was on the line for that fight.
