George Kambosos Jr. may have ended his career as an elite boxer.
The former lightweight champion emerged with a majority decision in favor of Maxi Hughes in his 12-pound belt elimination Saturday night in Shawnee, Oklahoma, but you can bet not many believe he won it.
The folks at Firelake Arena certainly don’t think so. They booed the decision wildly when it was announced.
That’s because Hughes seemed to beat Kambosos, who lost one-sidedly to undisputed 135-pound champion Devin Haney.
The polished, experienced Englishman controlled much of the game by waiting for Kambosos (21-2, 10 KOs) to strike on his own, causing him to miss, throw multiple counter-punches, and then move away before Kambosos could react.
The simple yet effective formula frustrates Kambosos from start to finish and impresses onlookers.
The Kambosos won several innings by putting pressure on Hughes, who couldn’t avoid everything the Australians threw at him.
When the match ended, however, it looked like Hughes (26-6-2, 5 KOs) had done enough to claim the biggest win in the 33-year-old’s long career.
The judges saw it differently. The official scores are 117-111, 115-113 and 114-114. Boxing Junkie scored 115-113 for Hughes, seven innings to five.
The scorecard 117-111 (nine-thirds) of Josef Mason, a referee from Denver, will become one of the worst in recent memory.
Kambosos looked relieved and happy after learning he had won but he insisted in his post-match interview that he had done more than enough to win the nod.
“We won the match in many innings,” he said. “That doesn’t discredit Maxi Hughes. He had some good innings. But a few rounds don’t win you. We won most of the rounds.
“That’s why we chose him. He is a tough test. A lot of losers wouldn’t want to take the test like him. This is a tough challenge.”
One could see Hughes’ expression at the moment he realized he had lost the battle that he was very disappointed.
Audiences in Shawnee gave him a standing ovation as the television interviewer approached the loser following his interview with Kambosos shortly before.
“They know, they know,” Hughes said. “… I completely down. No one knows who I am. I shouldn’t have been on George’s team. I came tonight and I showed that I should have raised my hand.
“I don’t want to take George’s moment, but I’m gutted here.”
Kambosos took a step forward even if he didn’t deserve it by returning to the winning column for the first time since he frustrated Teofimo Lopez in 2021.
Haney reportedly plans to lift the weight class up to 140 pounds, where he wants to challenge owner Regis Prograis. If that happens, some 135-pound big names will be able to vie for the championship. And Kambosos will be among them.
He’s clearly targeting lightweight specifically for his next fight.
“I am so happy to have won this great win tonight, so happy to receive this new thing [secondary] titles to add to my collection,” he said. “Now we will sit down with the team. They are all excellent warriors.
“Shakur Stevenson is a great fighter [but] Vasiliy Lomachenko… I believe that is the next fight that will be fought.”
