After returning to the ring after a one-year-long hiatus, Gervonta Davis did what he was expected to do: put Frank Martin down on the canvas. Securing an eighth-round KO victory, Davis added another victim to his spotless boxing record of 30-0. Now, everybody expects Davis to do the thing that would put him among the hallowed list of P4P greats. The WBA lightweight champion needs to become undisputed. Moving along that line of action, Davis wanted a date inside the squared circle against skillful Ukrainian Vasyl Lomachenko. Both camps were actively negotiating a deal, but it has appeared to have hit a snag. According to ESPN reporter Mike Coppinger, the megafight between the two fighters is off, at least for this year.

Representatives from PBC and Top Rank reportedly met in Vegas last week to hammer out a deal for an ESPN-Prime Video pay-per-view fight, but it didn’t come to fruition. According to Lomachenko’s manager, Egis Klimas, the Ukrainian is “not in the mood” to fight currently, and wants to spend “more time with the family”. A statement from Klimas read: “Just money is not what motivates him. He doesn’t take anything just because of money. You can offer him millions, tens of millions of dollars—if he doesn’t have motivation, he’s not ready to prepare for the fight.”

The 18-3 boxer is a two-time Olympic Gold medalist, who has won titles in three weight divisions. His dream of being undisputed was quashed after a controversial unanimous decision loss to Devin Haney last year. Lomachenko returned to the ring this year, defeating George Kambosos Jr. to win the vacant IBF lightweight title in May.

Now that Lomachenko has backed out, Davis will have to look for new opponents. There are fighters on his hit list like WBC lightweight champion, Shakur Stevenson, and William Zepeda who he could fight instead.

Although most fans are disappointed that the fight won’t take place this year, many support Lomachenko’s decision to take some time off from boxing.

Vasyl Lomachenko is in no rush, and fans aren’t either!

One fan called the 36-year-old Ukrainian “old”, and didn’t begrudge his decision to be with his family. Or, was it sarcasm?

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Another fan stated that at this stage of his career, Lomachenko was making the “smart” move by not fighting Gervonta Davis. They believe it would be yet another KO win for the Baltimore native.

Age is definitely a factor when it comes to Loma facing a relatively young Davis. Therefore, one fan feels that a fight between the explosive Davis, and the defensive and calculated boxer like Shakur Stevenson is what is more “necessary” for boxing.

One fan noted that when Lomachenko was at his prime and a unified lightweight champion, he had called out Gervonta Davis, who wasn’t ready to accept the challenge. Therefore, it seems fitting that Lomachenko would make Davis wait for a title fight, or in the worst-case scenario, not offer a fight at all.

Nonetheless, do you agree with Loma’s decision to take time off from boxing? Should he be fighting Gervonta Davis right away? Let us know in the comment section below.