Vasiliy Lomachenko, Devin Haney and Gervonta Davis – Who earned the shot at George Kambosos Jr.?

By: Hans Themistode

George Kambosos Jr. toured the United States following an epic win over Teofimo Lopez. The Australian-born boy graciously posed for pictures with his new adoring fans, signed autographs and patiently completed what felt like a lengthy amount of interviews. More importantly, he researched the competition.

Devin Haney, Gervonta Davis and Vasiliy Lomachenko have always been highly regarded by fans and the media throughout their careers but with all three weight classes competing in close proximity to each other, there is even more pressure on them. .

The need to impress Kambosos Jr comes as a direct result of the Australians dismissing what seemed an inevitable and unlikely one.

Kambosos Jr confidently stepped into Lopez’s backyard as a giant underdog, looked into the booing crowd at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater, and flashed a grin. The pre-match predictions that informed him of an embarrassing loss were nothing to worry about. Then, just as the opening bell rang, the 28-year-old completely stripped Lopez of the championship title and spread his previous undefeated record.

With the Australian currently owning the IBF, WBA and WBC franchise lightweight titles, he made clear that his next opponent will be chosen from a small pool of names, all given focus to present their case.

First on the test board is Devin Haney. The WBC lightweight, who frequently finds himself chastised for the way he was awarded titles, raised an eyebrow at Kambosos Jr. While his recent rival Joseph Diaz proved to be an enduring and gamer, Haney thoroughly boxed his man before arriving at a decisive unanimous victory.

When Aussie took off his bloody war hat and threw on his analysis hat, he was mostly impressed by what he saw.

“It was a good performance,” Kambosos Jr said in an interview with Sporting News. “It was exactly what I expected. He’s moving, boxed and sharp from the outside. ”

Still, even if Haney proves to be a good impression on the man who currently holds the top spot in the 135-pound grocer, Gervonta Davis is still expected to usurp him.

Kambosos Jr made the short trip from Las Vegas, Nevada, to the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, and sat comfortably in the backseat for the main event. While Haney vs. Diaz allows Kambosos Jr. full analysis of 12 rounds, in the case of Davis vs. Isaac Cruz, it seems Australians won’t be offered such courtesy.

However, even with most of the boxing world predicting Davis’ short and explosive win, Cruz proved far more tenacious, lasting the full 12 rounds and giving Davis the toughest fight of his career. However, he was helped by Davis’ badly injured left hand.

As the Baltimore native filed his report and awaited scores from Kambosos Jr., the newly crowned unified list proved a bit lethargic. In fact, when asked to combine both performances, Kambosos Jr. gave Haney a clear advantage

“Nothing too exciting,” Kambosos Jr went on to refer to Davis in an interview with FightHype.com. “That’s what it was. He won. I had it very, very close, it could have been a draw but he passed it. I think Haney had a better performance. .”

With Haney performing better, the 23-year-old seems to have a clear path to face Kambosos Jr. But just as Haney began to confidently move towards the line, Vasiliy Lomachenko grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back.

Despite losing similar world titles when he took the waist of Kambosos Jr to Teofimo Lopez late last year, Lomachenko is now back on the radar of every top 135-pound athlete. After undergoing subsequent shoulder surgery following her failure, the Ukrainian star looks better than ever. He easily dealt with Masayoshi Nakatani earlier this year, stopping him in the ninth round. He will then follow up with that with a defeat of former prodigy Richard Commey last weekend at Madison Square Garden.

Now, after re-establishing himself, even Kambosos Jr has no choice but to acknowledge the Ukrainian’s performance.

“Loma’s great boxing put him in the equation with Haney, Tank & Ryan (Garcia), even after the loss to Teofimo,” Kambosos Jr said after watching Lomachenko take down Commey. “Looking forward to fighting one of these fellow warriors in 2022.”

Even as the unified spotlight list admits that Ryan Garcia is still firmly in the Kambosos Jr. sweepstakes, he still seems to be behind the class. Having fought only once throughout 2021, Garcia will likely have to sit and wait as Kambosos Jr. choose who he thinks is the best fighter in that group.

With Davis making a tight decision ahead of Cruz, Kambosos Jr seems to have placed him above Garcia but behind both Haney and Lomachenko. As for the accurate impression/earning of their shot in Kambosos Jr., at most, Lomachenko seems to have the edge. While the Davis matchup might give the Australians the best financial incentive, the Davis team has always been more interested in going up against fighters that could be more profitable in terms of arena ticket sales. instead of chasing world titles.

Can Haney finally usurp Lomachenko and head to an arena packed with Australians to fight for undisputed glory? Of course, he can. However, given how Lomachenko has regained his top status and how he’s dealing with an ordinary villain in Commey, a two-time former gold medalist and most likely multi-star a spot in the contest.