VASYL LOMACHENKO has taken a voluntary pay cut to get a fight with Teofimo Lopez ON, according to promoter Bob Arum.
The Ukrainian boxing superstar is desperate to get back into the ring after being sidelined by the coronavirus pandemic.
He is aiming to unify the lightweight division with a win against his Top Rank stablemate.
Lomachenko holds the WBC Franchise, WBA ‘Super’ and WBO belts with Lopez, the IBF champ, the only man standing in the way of complete divisional domination.
The fight was close to being made before the world was knocked sideways by Covid-19.
But now it has been revealed that pound for pound great Loma is willing to only collect £2.7million for his work.
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Arum told The Ak and Barak Show on Sirius XM via World Boxing News: “Teofimo is a great guy and we will continue to promote his fights.
“But I think Teofimo is beginning to realise that his aspirations as far as how much his purse should be was based on selling tickets to an arena, to as much as two and a half or three million dollars.
“Plus the closed-circuit – another million dollars.
“Those revenue streams are gone. But that doesn’t mean that he shouldn’t get a big purse. And he is getting a big purse.
“But you obviously can’t pay the man what you would be able to otherwise if you had a gate and closed-circuit revenue. It’s as simple as that.
“We never cut anybody below their minimums. And knowing Teofimo and knowing what a good young man he is, we will conclude [a deal] with him shortly.”
Luckily for Teofimo, Lomachenko – who is second on Ring Magazine’s pound for pound rankings behind Canelo Alvarez – is willing to take a hit.
Arum added: “As far as Lomachenko is concerned, he has a contract with us. A long-term contract for substantial numbers based on the level of fights.
“He voluntarily under these circumstances reduced his [own] purse in order to get the fight done.”
Arum confirmed a figure in the region of £2.7m was “not too far from the truth” in terms of the three-weight world champ’s pay packet.
