Lomachenko vs Russell Jr.: Purse bid scheduled for April 18

If you were holding out hope that maybe, just maybe, the ordered fight between Vasyl Lomachenko and Gary Russell Jr. would be the bout to melt the ice between Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank, well, I have some bad news for ya. It seems that since neither promotional side has made any movement toward negotiating the fight, which was ordered by the World Boxing Organization (WBO) to fill their vacant featherweight title, the WBO has been forced to stage a purse bid for the fight. The purse bid will take place Friday at noon ET in Orlando, Florida.

There are not a lot of expectations from either side (on making a deal), so the purse bid was called and we'll see how it will unfold from there," Top Rank Vice President Carl Moretti said.

According to ESPN.com's Dan Rafael, Lomachenko is more than willing to accept the fight. Russell, on the other hand, has yet to definitively state his stance. The option is always there for either man to turn the opportunity down and do whatever they want. The title shot would then go to the next man in the rankings.

The belt became vacant when Orlando Salido failed to make weight for his fight with Lomachenko in March, going over the 126 pound limit by two pounds. Salido won a tight decision, but was forced to relinquish the title.