Vasyl Lomachenko: From Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi to Two Olympic Golds and Three Professional World Titles
The Ukrainian southpaw went 396-1 as an amateur, won Olympic gold in 2008 and 2012, took a world title in his third pro fight and retired in 2025 as a three-division champion with an 18-3 record.
Vasyl Lomachenko lost only once in close to four hundred amateur bouts, won Olympic gold in Beijing and London, and then tried to rush through the professional ranks faster than anyone before him. His pro career lasted eleven years and only 21 fights. He finished it as a three-division world champion with a record of 18-3, after time away to serve in Ukraine's defence and a title win in Perth at the age of 36.
A Dance Class Before the Gym in Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi
Lomachenko was born on 17 February 1988 in Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, in what was then Soviet Ukraine. His father, Anatoly Lomachenko, coached him from childhood and remained his trainer for his entire career. Top Rank's Bob Arum has often told the story of how the father's method worked. Before the boy was allowed to box he had to take traditional Ukrainian dance lessons, and after those came gymnastics. The footwork and balance from those years later became the core of his style.
396 Wins, One Loss and the Val Barker Trophy
His amateur record is usually given as 396 wins and one defeat. That loss came against Russia's Albert Selimov in the featherweight final of the 2007 World Championships in Chicago, which Selimov won 16-11. Lomachenko beat him twice afterwards. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics he won five bouts at featherweight with a combined score of 58-13, took the gold medal and was given the Val Barker Trophy as the tournament's outstanding boxer.
He won the featherweight world title in Milan in 2009, moved up to lightweight and won again in Baku in 2011. At the 2012 London Games he beat Han Soon-chul 19-9 in the lightweight final and became a two-weight Olympic champion. In the first half of 2013 he boxed six times in the World Series of Boxing and then turned professional with Top Rank.
Salido, Russell and a Title in Fight Number Three
He made his pro debut on 12 October 2013 and knocked out José Ramírez in the fourth round. In only his second fight, on 1 March 2014, he faced the veteran Mexican Orlando Salido for the vacant WBO featherweight title. Salido missed weight, and by fight night he reportedly weighed around 147 pounds, far above the 126-pound limit. He also landed a large number of low blows. Lomachenko surged late and hurt Salido in the final round, but lost a split decision.
He got another title shot quickly. On 21 June 2014 he beat Gary Russell Jr. by majority decision, 116-112, 116-112 and 114-114, to win the vacant WBO featherweight belt. That made him a world champion in his third professional fight, which equalled the record for the fastest anyone has done it.
Two Divisions and a Run of Retirements on the Stool
He made three defences at featherweight. The last of them, in November 2015, ended when he stopped Romulo Koasicha in the tenth round with a body shot. He then moved up to junior lightweight. At the Theater at Madison Square Garden on 11 June 2016 he knocked out Román Martínez in the fifth round to win the WBO 130-pound title and become a two-division champion in his seventh pro fight.
The next stretch is the main reason he was rated so highly. Nicholas Walters stayed on his stool after seven rounds in Las Vegas in November 2016. Jason Sosa's corner pulled him out before the tenth in April 2017. Miguel Marriaga was beaten in seven that August. On 9 December 2017, back at the Theater at Madison Square Garden, Lomachenko met Guillermo Rigondeaux, the Cuban two-time Olympic champion, in a rare pro fight between two double Olympic gold medallists. Rigondeaux retired on his stool after six rounds with a hand injury. Asked afterwards about four straight opponents quitting, Lomachenko joked that his name was now "No Mas Chenko."
Linares, Three Weights in Twelve Fights and the Lightweight Belts
On 12 May 2018, in the main arena at Madison Square Garden, he challenged Venezuela's Jorge Linares for the WBA lightweight title. Linares dropped him with a right hand in the sixth, the first knockdown of Lomachenko's pro career. In the tenth Lomachenko answered with a liver shot that put Linares down, and the fight was stopped. It was his twelfth pro fight, and he was now a world champion at a third weight. Later that month he had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder.
He kept collecting lightweight belts. In December 2018 he beat José Pedraza on points and added the WBO title. In April 2019 he stopped Anthony Crolla in four rounds at Staples Center in Los Angeles. On 31 August 2019 at the O2 Arena in London he knocked Luke Campbell down in the eleventh round and won a wide decision for the vacant WBC belt. By then he held the WBA, WBO and WBC titles plus the Ring magazine championship, and only the IBF belt was missing.
The Night Teófimo López Took Everything
The IBF champion was Teófimo López, a 23-year-old from Brooklyn, and the two met on 17 October 2020 at the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas with all four belts on the line. Because of the pandemic the venue was closed to the public, and the only people at ringside were a small group of invited guests. Lomachenko, 32 and coming off a 14-month layoff, threw very little in the early rounds and López built a clear lead. The Ukrainian came into the fight from around the eighth round, but López finished strongly, outlanding him 50 to 19 in the twelfth according to the Associated Press and opening a cut near his eye.
The judges scored it 119-109, 117-111 and 116-112 for López. The 119-109 card from Julie Lederman, which gave Lomachenko only one round, was widely criticised as far too lopsided even by people who agreed López had won. Lomachenko told reporters, according to AP, "Definitely I am not agreeing with the scorecards." Days later he had surgery on his right shoulder.
War, Haney and a Last Belt in Perth
He came back in 2021 with a ninth-round stoppage of Masayoshi Nakatani in June and a clear points win over Richard Commey in December. When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, he returned home and joined a territorial defence battalion. A planned fight with George Kambosos Jr. in Australia fell through after he chose to stay in Ukraine rather than travel. He fought again in October 2022 and beat Jamaine Ortiz on points at the Hulu Theatre at Madison Square Garden.
On 20 May 2023 he challenged Devin Haney for the undisputed lightweight championship at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Haney won by unanimous decision, 116-112, 115-113 and 115-113. Many observers thought Lomachenko had done enough to win. It was his third and final defeat.
A year later, on 11 May 2024 at RAC Arena in Perth, he finally fought Kambosos in the Australian's home country, with the vacant IBF lightweight title at stake. He dropped Kambosos with body shots and stopped him in the eleventh round, while well ahead on all three scorecards. A proposed fight with Gervonta Davis was discussed in the months that followed but never got past negotiations.
Retirement at 37
On 5 June 2025 Lomachenko announced his retirement in a video posted on social media. He still held the IBF belt. In the video he thanked his father for teaching him far more than boxing. Arum described him in a Top Rank statement as a generational champion. His professional record ended at 18 wins, 12 of them inside the distance, and 3 losses.
Sources
- Vasiliy Lomachenko, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
- Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. Teófimo López, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
- Lopez upsets Lomachenko to unify lightweight titles, Associated Press (via KSAT), 18 October 2020
- Vasiliy Lomachenko announces his retirement from boxing, Top Rank, 5 June 2025
- Olympic star, 3-time pro champion Vasiliy Lomachenko announces retirement from boxing, Fox Sports, June 2025
- Vasyl Lomachenko announces retirement aged 37, Boxing News, June 2025
