Could this finally be George Kambosos Jr.’s last joy?
The 135-pound contender, who faces Vasiliy Lomachenko for the vacant IBF title on Saturday in Perth, Australia (ESPN, ESPN+), had a major breakthrough by defeating Teofimo Lopez by split decision. doubles in 2021 to win three belts.
What has he done since then? Losing one-sided decisions to Devin Haney – losing the title in his first fight – and then taking the majority decision on journeyman Maxi Hughes last July in Shawnee, Oklahoma.
And now the tough but restrained fighter from Sydney will face one of the most respected technicians in the world, one the bettors have made the favorite at 5½-1.
In other words, a win over Lomachenko would be as shocking as his upset with Lopez, who fought Kambosos in a dangerous situation with air surrounding his chest wall and heart.
Kambosos (21-2, 10 KOs) believes in himself even when few others do.
“That mentality sparked them saying, ‘This is the end of Kambosos, this will be an easy fight for Lomachenko,’” he told journalist Sean Zittel in an interview. interview.
“If they think this will be an easy fight then no problem. We will see on May 12.”
The losses for Haney are understandable. He took on a massive 135-pounder who was considered one of the best fighters in the world until he was knocked down three times and lost to Ryan Garcia on April 20.
However, the fact that Kambosos could barely get past Hughes reinforced the notion that he was a one-hit wonder.
Kambosos said BoxingScene.com that he had difficulty getting up to participate in the match, which affected his performance.
“When you date 10 out of 10 Victoria’s Secret models and then you meet 2 out of 10 models, a guy [like Hughes, who] it’s supposed to be a bumpy road, sometimes you don’t have that ultimate motivation,” Kambosos said.
“I had to adapt a lot during the battle. He was at his best, I was at my worst.”
He won’t have a motivation problem on Saturday because he knows what he’s facing.
Lomachenko (17-3, 11 KOs) is coming off a controversial unanimous decision loss to Haney almost exactly a year ago but he’s clearly still formidable at 36 years old.
“One hundred percent Lomachenko has a lot left in the tank,” Kambosos said. “But I don’t believe he still has that dog with him anymore. I don’t think he wants it as much as I do right now.
“You can never ignore someone like Lomachenko. I would be the biggest fool to do that. Lomachenko is an all-time great and a guy we respect a lot. We are preparing for the best version of Lomachenko.
“Once that bell rings, the respect is gone and it’s time to do the work.”
