IBF lightweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko has been granted a medical exception by the Sanctioning Body to retain his title.
Meanwhile, the IBF has ordered #2 Raymond Muratalla and #4 Zaur Abdullaev to fight for the interim 135 lb belt. Lomachencheko (18-3, 12 KO) must defend his IBF title against the winner of Muratalla-Abdullaev 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 him negotiate 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 as neither is well known to casual boxing fans. Moreover, it would be a brutal fight for Lomachenko if Muratalla (22-0, 17 KOs) is the one he ends up facing.
If the IBF allows Lomachenko to bypass the winner so he can fight Tank, that would be one way he has to fight the Muratalla-Abdullaev fight.
Abdullaev (20-1, 12 KOs) has won his last nine fights since suffering his only career loss, a fourth-round stoppage loss to Devin Haney on September 13, 2019. Haney landed a perfect knockout punch in that fight. Had they fought in a rematch, Abdullaev would probably have beaten Haney as he was doing well before he was stopped.
