IBF lightweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko was granted a medical exception by the Sanctioning Body so he could retain his title.
IBF’s decision
Meanwhile, the IBF has ordered #2 Raymond Muratalla and #4 Zaur Abdullaev to fight for the interim 135-lb belt. Lomachencheko (18-3, 12 KOs) must defend his IBF title against the Muratalla-Abdullaev winner by October 8 to retain his belt.
It’s a tough decision Lomachenko, 36, has to make as he needs his IBF title to help his negotiating position for a unification fight against WBA champion Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis.
However, there is no money for Loma to fight the winner of the Muratallev vs. Abdullaev fight because neither of them is well known to casual boxing fans. Additionally, it will be a brutal fight for Lomachenko if Muratalla (22-0, 17 KOs) is the one he ends up facing. That guy can punch and is one of the most dangerous lightweights in the division.
If the IBF allows Lomachenko to bypass the winner so he can fight, that would be one way to have to fight the Muratalla-Abdullaev fight.
Abdullaev (20-1, 12 KOs) has won his last nine fights since suffering his only career loss, losing to Devin Haney with a fourth round stoppage on September 13, 2019. Haney landed the perfect shot for the knockout in that fight to get If they fought a rematch, Abdullaev would probably beat Haney because he was doing well before he was stopped.
