Vasiliy Lomachenko and Luke Campbell have reached a deal to fight for the vacant WBC lightweight title later this year, the governing body announced.
The WBC said Lomachenko and Campbell have finally inked a deal and now the two will face each other on August 31 in the United Kingdom. No venue was specified, but it is expected to be broadcast on an ESPN platform in the United States.
Lomachenko -- Campbell
— World Boxing Council (@WBCBoxing) June 25, 2019
-- August 31, 2019
----United Kingdom
--WBC Lightweight Championship#WBC #ConquerEverything #Boxing #GreenBelt pic.twitter.com/TzCg7yfeRo
The news comes after the governing body ordered weeks ago that Lomachenko and Crolla must fight for the WBC title in the aftermath of Mikey Garcia vacating his 135-pound title. Garcia was previously ordered to face Campbell, the mandatory challenger, next, but Garcia indicated he would more than likely not return to lightweight immediately after losing to IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. back in March.
Waiting in the wings are a number of boxers, including undefeated contender Devin Haney, who were also ordered to fight each other to create a new mandatory challenger for the title. So far, there is nothing official regarding any title eliminators.
Lomachenko has an opportunity to hold three of the four major world titles at 135 pounds as he is already the WBA and WBO champion. The two-time Olympic gold medalist moved up in weight from super featherweight last year to knock out Jorge Linares and win the WBA title, followed by a win over Jose Pedraza to add the WBO belt last December. Lomachenko, a three-division champion, is coming off a fourth-round win over Anthony Crolla back in April.
Campbell had been the mandatory challenger since September 2018 when he defeated Yvan Mendy in a title eliminator. Campbell once challenged for the WBA lightweight title in 2017, but lost a split decision to Linares in California. The 31-year-old Campbell has since then won three straight fights since losing to Linares.
The winner of the fight will aim for an eventual shot to become the undisputed champion in 2020. The IBF title, currently being held by Richard Commey, will be on the line in a fight between Commey and Raymundo Beltran on June 28. After that fight, the winner would likely face the winner of a title eliminator between Teofimo Lopez and Masayoshi Nakatani taking place in July.
