Ukrainian boxing star Vasiliy Lomachenko to skip upcoming fight over Russia invasion

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Vasiliy Lomachenko, a Ukrainian boxing star who joined the country’s military to help ward off Russia’s invasion, decided Monday he will skip out on his next fight.

George Kambosos was set to fight Lomachenko on June 5 in Australia but the Ukrainian decided to stay in the country, Kambosos’ promoter Lou DiBella told ESPN.

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Vasiliy Lomachenko in action against Luke Campbell. (Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge)

"I respect your decision and I totally understand and I pray for you and your country," Kambosos tweeted. "please stay safe and once i wipe the floor with Devin (Haney), we will make this fight between two real champions. God bless."

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Lomachenko, along with heavyweight boxing star Oleksandr Usyk, joined Ukraine’s territorial defense battalions as Russia began its invasion.

Vasyl Lomachenko poses as he celebrates winning the fight. (Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge)

"How can anyone question, the fight he's going through right now is much bigger than any boxing match," DiBella told ESPN. "We made a deal with him, the deal was literally done before the invasion, we wanted to give him any chance within reason with our allowable timetable."

He continued: "We have nothing but the utmost respect for his decision. Kambosos wanted to make sure once we made that deal that Lomachenko had ample time to decide. ... We said all along we would try to make the biggest fights and we did that today."

Australian WBA, WBO & IBF Lightweight World Champion boxer George Kambosos poses at Sydney Airport on December 09, 2021 in Sydney, Australia. (Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

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Lomachenko is a two-time Olympic gold medalist. He won gold as a featherweight in 2008 and gold as a lightweight in 2012. The 34-year-old is a former champion in three separate weight classes – featherweight, junior lightweight and lightweight.