Lomachenko, Lopez eye Sept. unification fight

Vasiliy Lomachenko and Teofimo Lopez want to next fight each other in a high-stakes lightweight unification bout, Top Rank’s Bob Arum told ESPN on Tuesday after talking to both camps.

“In talking with Lomachenko and Lopez, neither of them want an interim fight,” Arum said. “So we would plan to do that in September, with or without an audience.”

Lomachenko (14-1, 10 KOs) currently holds the WBC, WBA and WBO 135-pound titles. He last fought on Aug. 31, winning a hard-fought 12-round decision against Luke Campbell at the O2 Arena in England.

Egis Klimas, who manages Lomachenko, also said his client prefers to bypass a tune-up bout and go straight to Lopez.

“Nothing matters, as long as Lopez is coming in the ring with Lomachenko,” Klimas said about the prospect of fighting without fans in attendance.

Lomachenko is currently in his home country of Ukraine, but Klimas said his fighter has a green card, “so he’s a permanent resident; he’s allowed to come into the country.”

The 22-year-old Lopez won the IBF lightweight title in emphatic fashion, beating Richard Commey in two rounds on Dec. 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York. The young talent has made it clear that he wanted to beat Lomachenko before moving up in weight.

His father, Teofimo Sr stated that they want Lomachenko, sooner rather than later.

“One-hundred percent,” said Teofimo Lopez Sr., his father. “We don’t need no tune-ups. We are focused with Lomachenko. That’s all we want, is Lomachenko.”

A fight between the two has been talked about since the calendar turned to 2020, and there was talk of it taking place at Madison Square Garden in May — before the boxing industry was shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic.

There was speculation that this particular matchup, which is heavily anticipated by boxing fans, would be hampered by not having ticket revenue attached to it.

Both boxers have stated their intentions to move forward with this clash, however, and Arum said it would be a pay-per-view bout.

“It certainly would be a pay-per-view,” Arum said. “… It’s a big fight that we can do something spectacular, in conjunction with the Las Vegas Convention Authority. Do a big outdoor event. There’s a lot of innovative stuff you can do, and still adhering to the mandate of social distancing.”