The cultural minister of Ukraine has now offered both Oleksandr Usyk and Vasyl Lomachenko the chance to leave the country's defence forces to train for potential next fights vs Anthony Joshua and George Kambosos Jr respectively, Bob Arum has stated.
Arum says the Ukrainian government believes that this would be a great angle for publicity if they let Lomachenko and Usyk leave to compete in their important fights.
If Usyk and Lomachenko leave Ukraine now, it’s unclear what the situation will be when they return in two to three months.
IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Usyk and Lomachenko, both Ukrainians, have been defending against the Russian invasion for weeks.
Usyk hasn’t said whether he’ll leave Ukraine, but Lomachenko reportedly wants to train for a title fight against IBF/WBA/WBC Franchise/WBO lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr. on June 5th in Australia.
If Usyk chooses to stay behind to defend against the Russians, Joshua will need to find another opponent for his next fight in June or July.
“Ukrainian government, which is tremendous, is cooperating with us as far as Lomachenko and also Usyk,” said Bob Arum to the Fanatics View. “They realize it’s a tremendous publicity angle for them to come out [of Ukraine] and train and participate in title fights [against Kambosos and Joshua].
