Loma looks to live dangerously in return to the ring

Former Ukrainian pound-for-pound king Vasiliy Lomachenko hasn't officially announced his return to the ring, but the rumors about who will be his comeback fight opponent are already swirling.

Gervonta "Tank" Davis was the first name mentioned. That makes sense, since fans of both fighters have accused them of ducking their guy at one point or another during their careers.

But Tank is a tough fight for anyone, much less a 38-year-old retiree who hasn't boxed professionally in over two years. So if those two do eventually get it on, it's best that Loma gets his feet wet again with a slightly less high-profile opponent.

The second name to pop up is that of fellow 130-lber Emanuel Navarrete. The Mexican super featherweight just dominated Eduardo Nunez to unify the IBF and WBO Super Featherweight titles in February and is The Ring's top-rated 130-lb.

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If that weren't concerning enough for Loma, Eduardo Nunez, the guy he beat in February, clearly learned to fight at the Vasiliy Lomachenko school of boxing.

Nunez moves exactly like Lomachenko, relying on angles, head movement, and quick hands to frustrate and outclass his opponents. Nunez tried everything against Navarrete that Lomachenko will try if and when they fight, but his flurries barely bothered the eventual victor.

Navarrete is a big 130 lber. Nunez isn't a small guy, and he came into their fight bulked up, but he looked tiny against Navarrete. Nunez was able to do his thing, switch angles, hit Navarrete from places he wasn't looking and then escape. But Navarrete was able to eat all of Nunez's combinations and spit out responses that were 10 times more powerful.

Nunez took a vicious beating from Navarrete in February. The doctors had to stop the fight because his eye was swollen shut and he couldn't see out of it. His face was battered and bruised after 11 rounds of brutal punishment.

Lomachenko isn't a big 130 lber. In fact, Nunez is probably bigger than him, so Navarrete will really have a big size advantage should they fight.

But on the other hand, as good as Nunez is, he isn't Vasiliy Lomachenko. While Loma is no longer at the peak of his powers after tough losses to Devin Haney and Teofimo Lopez, he remains one of the greatest fighters of his generation in terms of boxing skills.

Navarette is the unified champion at 130, so going for his belts makes perfect sense. But Navarrete has proven to be a world-class fighter in a division where the former champion didn't have enough power to even slow him down.

Navarrete is a dangerous way to re-enter the boxing world, especially since he got a preview of Lomachenko's style not too long ago. But there's only one Vasiliy Lomachenko, so it'll be interesting to see if he can do what a less polished version of him couldn't.

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This story was originally published May 20, 2026 at 8:03 PM.