Charly Suarez Lomachenko is the match Bob Arum is now describing, after Vasily Lomachenko came out of retirement on Thursday in the US to sign a co-promotion agreement between his Loma Power and Top Rank. The Ukrainian said he will return to the ring in 2027. Arum's stated plan places Suarez, the Filipino WBO mandatory contender at super featherweight, in that comeback fight.
The column reports no signed terms for Suarez, only Arum's promise of a big purse to fight Lomachenko instead of WBC champion O'Shaquie Foster. Lomachenko, described in the report as a former two-time Olympic gold medalist and three-division champion, would then move on to Foster with the undisputed title at stake.
Charly Suarez Lomachenko fight fits an Arum blueprint
Arum said Suarez and Lomachenko would face off, after which Lomachenko would fight Foster. The column asks whether the promoter slipped by assuming a Lomachenko win, or whether he had already put his machinery into motion. The source names no date, venue or purse figure for a Suarez bout.
Navarrete, the no-contest and the Foster loss
Suarez's controversial loss to Emanuel Navarrete was declared a no-contest, and the WBO attempted to schedule a rematch. According to the column, Navarrete avoided it for more than a year, then chose to stake his WBO and IBF belts against WBC champion O'Shaquie Foster, with the understanding that the winner would face Suarez.
Navarrete lost that fight. Arum then changed the deal, speaking immediately of Lomachenko eventually facing Foster to become undisputed champion. The column's point is that Suarez's mandatory position has not delivered the title fight it promised, and that a fighter outside the Top Rank circle will keep being edged out.
Suarez's activity and the Avila stoppage
Suarez, 38, has waited years for a world-title shot. Last July he demolished Manuel Avila in 2:31, a result the column reads as a message that he was not to be trifled with. He is undefeated, and the report lists activity and relative freshness as his advantages.
The two are the same age, according to the report, but Lomachenko has not fought since 2025. Suarez's recent work rate is the only edge the column grants him; the rest of the arrangement, in its reading, belongs to the promoter.
Suarez and Boholst on taking any opponent
"At this point, we will fight whoever they put in front of us," Suarez told the column. "If we do not and try to choose an opponent, the opportunity might not come again. Time moves on."
His lead trainer, Delfin Boholst, said the uncertainty lands on the corner as much as on the fighter. "It also puts pressure on us, the training team," he said. "We have to make sure Charly is ready to fight, and make adjustments for whoever the opponent is going to be."
Analysis: the risk in accepting the Lomachenko fight
This section reflects the source column's argument and is not a report of confirmed outcomes. The column frames the choice as short-term gain over immortality: a larger purse against a proven opponent under the promoter's banner, instead of a lifelong dream of winning a title in even one organisation.
It also states that unless Suarez knocks Lomachenko out, he will lose the fight, and that Top Rank will hand its fighter the undisputed championship instead. The column does not report a WBO ruling on Suarez's mandatory status or any signed contract for the bout.
This report is based on the original column published by philstar.com.