Could this finally be George Kambosos Jr.’s last hurrah?
The 135-pouind contender, who faces Vasiliy Lomachenko for the vacant IBF title Saturday in Perth, Australia (ESPN, ESPN+), had a major break through when he defeated Teofimo Lopez by a split decision 2021 to win three belts.
What has he done since? Lost back-to-back one-sided decisions to Devin Haney — losing his titles in the first fight — and then eked out a majority decision over journeyman Maxi Hughes last July in Shawnee, Oklahoma.
And now the tough, but limited fighter from Sydney is going to tangle with one of the most respected technicians in the world, one the oddsmakers have made about a 5½-1 favorite.
In other words, a victory over Lomachenko would be about as shocking as his upset of Lopez, who fought Kambosos with a dangerous condition in which air surrounded his chest wall and heart.
Kambosos (21-2, 10 KOs) believes in himself even if few others do.
“That mentality has lit a fuse where they’re saying, ‘This is the end of Kambosos, this is going to be an easy fight for Lomachenko,'” he told journalist Sean Zittel in an interview.
“If they think it’s going to be an easy fight, no problem. We’ll see on May 12th.”
The losses to Haney can be explained. He was up against a big 135-pounder who was considered one of the best fighters in the world until he went down three times and lost a decision to Ryan Garcia on April 20.
However, the fact Kambosos could barely get past Hughes reinforced the notion that he was a one-hit wonder.
Kambosos told BoxingScene.com that he had trouble getting up for the fight, which affected his performance.
“When you’ve been with 10-out-of-10 Victoria’s Secret models and then you get the 2-out-of-10, a guy [like Hughes, who] is supposed to be a bump in the road, you sometimes don’t have that supreme motivation,” Kambosos said.
“I had to adapt a lot in the fight. He was at his best, and I was at my worst.”
He shouldn’t have trouble with motivation on Saturday because he knows what he’s up against.
Lomachenko (17-3, 11 KOs) is coming off a disputed unanimous decision loss to Haney almost exactly a year ago but he clearly remains formidable at 36 years old.
“A hundred percent Lomachenko has a lot left in the tank,” Kambosos said. “But I don’t believe he has that dog inside of him anymore. I don’t think he wants it as bad as I do right now.
“You can never overlook a guy like Lomachenko. I’d be the biggest idiot if I were to do that. Lomachenko is an all-time great and a guy we have a lot of respect for. We are preparing for the best version of Lomachenko.
“Once that bell rings, the respect is out the door and it’s time to do the job.”
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