O'Shaquie Foster to Lomachenko: Get a Tune-Up So You've Got No Excuses

O'Shaquie Foster has a message for Vasiliy Lomachenko before the two ever share a ring: go get a warm-up first. The Texan now controls three of the four super-featherweight world titles after beating Emanuel Navarrete on Saturday, and he wants the 38-year-old Ukrainian to knock the rust off before any undisputed showdown. His reasoning, delivered to Fight Hub TV, was blunt — when he beats Loma, he doesn't want to hear a word about ring rust.

The context matters. Lomachenko retired in 2025 before recently reversing course, and he hasn't fought since capturing the IBF lightweight title with a stoppage of George Kambosos in 2024. Now he's eyeing all four belts at 130lbs. Three of them sit with Foster. The fourth belongs to Belfast's Anthony Cacace, the WBA champion at 25-1 (9 KO) off a unanimous decision over Jazza Dickens.

The Undisputed Puzzle

Loma's quest to become undisputed isn't new. He chased it at lightweight and had it ripped away by a controversial decision loss to Devin Haney in 2023 — the same Haney who's since moved up and now holds the WBO welterweight strap at 33-0 (15 KO). That loss clearly still stings, and it's part of why the comeback exists at all.

Foster's point about excuses isn't just needling. A fighter returning from retirement at 38 is a genuine variable, and Foster — a three-belt champion — would rather settle it clean. He's not refusing the fight. He's asking for a level playing field so there's no asterisk hanging over the result.

Who's Next for Loma

Here's where it gets tangled. Lomachenko's planned November return has slipped to February 2027, and the man reportedly in line to face him is Filipino contender Charly Suarez — the WBO mandatory, unbeaten at 19-0 (11 KO) and coming off a first-round TKO of Manuel Ávila. That's less a tune-up than a live test.

Meanwhile, Cacace defends his WBA title against Nick Ball on December 19. One clean path forward: Foster faces the Cacace-Ball winner for undisputed status, and Lomachenko slots in for a shot at whoever's left standing. If Loma handles Suarez, the excuses Foster's worried about won't exist — and neither will any doubt about whether the old master still belongs at the top of 130.