Vasiliy Lomachenko Names Charly Suarez as His Comeback Target — But the Undisputed Dream Starts With a Reality Check

Vasiliy Lomachenko is talking about returning to boxing with an undisputed championship in his sights. Before that ambition can become a serious title campaign, however, the former three-division world champion intends to find out whether he can still perform at the level his name demands.

Lomachenko told Fight Hub TV that unbeaten Filipino contender Charly Suarez would be his preferred opponent for a first fight back. The 38-year-old said he plans to evaluate his condition after facing Suarez before deciding whether to pursue another championship run at 130 pounds, which he considers his natural weight.

That makes Suarez more than a recognizable opponent attached to a comeback story. He would be the examination Lomachenko needs after retiring in June 2025 and spending more than two years outside the ring.

For now, it remains a proposed fight. Neither a promoter, commission nor representative for either boxer has announced a signed contract. There is no confirmed date, venue or broadcaster, and the available reporting does not include a public response from Suarez or his team.

Lomachenko has identified his intended direction. He has not officially secured the fight—or proved that the fighter pursuing an undisputed title still exists.

Lomachenko Has Described a Plan, Not Announced a Fight

During his Fight Hub TV interview, Lomachenko described Suarez as the “next step” and indicated that the matchup would serve as his first bout after the layoff. Boxing News and FIGHTMAG subsequently reported his comments, with FIGHTMAG noting that Lomachenko wants to return at super featherweight because he views 130 pounds as his proper division.

His larger objective is familiar. Lomachenko still wants to become an undisputed champion after falling short of that achievement at lightweight.

The structure of his proposed comeback is significant. Lomachenko is not presenting Suarez as one more opponent on the way to a predetermined title fight. He has said he wants to face the unbeaten contender, see how he feels and then determine what comes next. That acknowledges the uncertainty surrounding any return by a 38-year-old fighter following extended inactivity.

Before O’Shaquie Foster defeated Emanuel Navarrete on October 24, Lomachenko expressed interest in meeting the winner. Foster answered that part of the equation by producing a decisive performance. According to Top Rank, he won by unanimous decision, with scores of 118-108, 118-108 and 115-111, after scoring two knockdowns in the final round.

The victory left Foster with the WBC, WBO and IBF super-featherweight championships and a 26-3 record with 12 knockouts. It also gave Lomachenko’s ambition a specific target if his comeback proceeds successfully.

But publicly naming Suarez does not mean Lomachenko has formally reversed his retirement, signed for a return or obtained a direct route to Foster. It simply makes the idea more concrete by identifying the opponent he believes should provide his first test.

BoxingScene had already reported in May that an official familiar with Lomachenko’s plans identified Suarez as the desired comeback opponent. Lomachenko’s own comments now reinforce that direction, but they do not resolve the contractual questions surrounding it.

Until those details are announced, Lomachenko-Suarez should be treated as an intended matchup rather than a confirmed event.

Suarez Would Make This a Test Instead of a Ceremony

Lomachenko’s reputation could have supported a softer return. He is a former champion across three divisions, one of the most accomplished amateur boxers in history and a fighter whose movement, angles and technical intelligence once made elite opponents appear ordinary.

Suarez would not be an opponent selected merely to participate in a veteran’s comeback.

GMA News reported that the Filipino contender improved to 19-0 with 11 knockouts by stopping Manuel Avila in the first round on July 18. That recent activity matters when compared with Lomachenko, who has not competed since defeating George Kambosos Jr. in May 2024.

Suarez also has experience at championship level, even if his opportunity against Navarrete did not produce a conventional result. Their May 2025 WBO title fight was eventually recorded as a no-contest after the original outcome was overturned. That bout did not give Suarez a championship, but it placed him in a meaningful contest against one of the division’s leading fighters.

His record and activity make the proposed matchup dangerous for precisely the right reasons.

Lomachenko would enter with the superior résumé, deeper championship experience and greater historical standing. Suarez would bring an unbeaten record, recent competition and the confidence of a fighter who has remained active while Lomachenko was retired.

That contrast is what gives the fight value.

If Lomachenko returned against an overmatched opponent, a victory might demonstrate that he could complete a training camp and make weight. It would reveal much less about whether he could challenge Foster or survive another demanding championship run.

Suarez should require more. He would force Lomachenko to deal with an active contender who has not learned how to lose as a professional and would have an enormous opportunity to build his own name by defeating a modern great.

This would not be a retirement celebration disguised as a contest.

It would be Lomachenko placing his undisputed ambition at risk before that campaign properly begins.

The Record Cannot Tell Us What Lomachenko Has Left

Lomachenko’s last performance was successful. Top Rank records that he stopped Kambosos in the 11th round on May 12, 2024, winning the vacant IBF lightweight championship and improving his professional record to 18-3 with 12 knockouts.

That night demonstrated that Lomachenko could still break down an experienced former champion. He controlled the fight, maintained his pressure and produced a late stoppage rather than simply protecting a lead.

It also happened more than two years ago.

Lomachenko announced his retirement on June 5, 2025, ending a professional career that had produced world championships in three divisions. His résumé has not diminished during his absence, but résumés do not preserve timing, reflexes or physical durability.

Those questions become more serious at 38.

Lomachenko’s style has always depended on more than technical knowledge. His ability to create unusual angles requires sharp feet. His combination punching relies on recognizing and exploiting openings before an opponent can reset. His defense depends on reactions, positioning and the confidence to operate close enough to make opponents miss by narrow margins.

Experience can help compensate for physical decline, but it cannot make that decline irrelevant.

Against Suarez, Lomachenko would need to show that he can still establish his rhythm after a long layoff. He would need to maintain his movement beyond the opening rounds, react defensively when exchanges become faster and withstand the physical demands of a complete fight if an early breakthrough does not arrive.

He would also need to demonstrate that returning to 130 pounds improves his performance rather than simply creating another difficult demand on an aging body.

None of those answers can be found in footage from the Kambosos fight or in the championships Lomachenko won years earlier. They require current evidence.

A convincing victory over Suarez would not automatically mean Lomachenko could defeat Foster, but it would make the conversation legitimate. A narrow or physically difficult performance might suggest that another preparatory bout is necessary. A loss would reduce the undisputed plan to an ambition unsupported by present form.

Suarez is valuable because he could force those distinctions into the open.

The Road to Undisputed Remains Complicated

Even if Lomachenko secures the Suarez fight and wins impressively, an undisputed championship opportunity would not be immediately available.

Foster now controls three of the four major titles at 130 pounds following his victory over Navarrete. The remaining championship picture belongs to the WBA, and that route has obligations of its own.

The O2 Belfast lists WBA super-featherweight champion Anthony Cacace for a December 19 defense against Nick Ball. The WBA has authorized Cacace to make a voluntary defense before the end of 2026 and ordered the winner to face Elnur Samedov.

That means the final title required for an undisputed fight is already connected to another sequence of bouts. Foster would need the opportunity to acquire the WBA championship—or face whoever eventually controls it—before a matchup with Lomachenko could crown an undisputed champion.

Lomachenko cannot control that process.

He can only make himself relevant to it.

That begins with turning the Suarez proposal into an actual fight, completing another camp after retirement and defeating an unbeaten contender. Only then would it make sense to discuss whether Foster should be next.

Foster’s performance against Navarrete also established a demanding standard. He did not merely add titles through a disputed or narrow decision. According to Top Rank’s account, he won clearly on all three scorecards and punctuated the result with two knockdowns in the 12th round.

A fighter seeking to challenge him would need more than historical greatness. Lomachenko would have to prove that he can still sustain the pace, precision and physical resilience required against a unified champion operating in current form.

That is why the proposed Suarez fight matters more than the comeback announcement itself.

It would determine whether Lomachenko belongs in the championship picture as an active threat or only as a legendary name with one final objective.