George Kambosos, Maxi Hughes, Keyshawn Davis, and Francesco Patera all made weight today for their lightweight bouts this Saturday night, July 22nd, on ESPN at the FireLake Arena in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Kambosos-Hughes is an IBF 135-lb title eliminator.
(Photo credit: Mikey Williams/Top Rank via Getty Images)
If Kambosos is victorious, he’ll be guaranteed a title shot, but it probably won’t be against Devin Haney because he’s on his way out of the division. If Kambosos beats Hughes, he’ll likely face #1 Gustavo Lemos for the vacant IBF strap.
This card has kind of gone under the radar for a lot of boxing fans, as it lacks a marquee fight on the card. Kambosos limps into Saturday’s fight with the 33-year-old Hughes, with his career on the brink of permanent implosion.
Another loss for the 30-year-old Kambosos could signal the end of his career. It would be up to Top Rank if they want to keep him around to finish out his contract or if they have an escape clause they can use.
Top Rank had something in mind when they signed Kambosos in a salvage expedition. It could be that they feel that with the right match-making, they can steer him into winning the IBF title and taking advantage of his popularity in Australia to put him in stadium & PPV fights.
The former WBA, IBF, WBO, and The Ring 135-lb champion Kambosos (20-2, 10 KOs) fights Hughes (26-5-2, 5 KOs) in a 12 round IBF 135-lb title eliminator in the headliner.
Main card at 10:00 p.m. ET on ESPN, ESPN Deportes & ESPN+
- George Kambosos Jr. 134.6 vs. Maxi Hughes 134.7
- Keyshawn Davis 134.3 vs. Francesco Patera 134
Prelims on ESPN+ at 6:15 p.m. ET
- Giovani Santillan 147.8 vs. Erick Bone 147.6
- Jeremiah Milton 255.3 vs. Willie Harvey 296.5
- Troy Isley 158.8 vs. Antonio Todd 159.2
- Amron Sands 300 vs. Hemi Ahio 247
- Stephan Shaw 244 vs. Joe Goodall 238
2020 U.S Olympian Keyshawn Davis (8-0, 6 KOs) puts his unbeaten record on the line against Francesco Patera (28-3, 10 KOs) in a 10 round fight in the chief support bout.
Keyshawn, 24, has the chance to steal the show with an impressive performance on Saturday, but that’s not saying much because he should be in the main event in this card in the eyes of fans, as he’s a better talent than Kambosos or Hughes.
After this fight, Keyshawn will likely be moved up against top 10 contenders because he doesn’t need to be coddled for six to eight years because of his amateur pedigree.
It would be nice to see Top Rank take Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn up on his offer of matching 2020 Olympic gold medalist Andy Cruz against Keyshawn.
That would be a winnable fight for Keyshawn, as Cruz showed no power and looked beatable in his recent pro debut against Juan Carlos Burgos.