Vasily Lomachenko (17-3, 11 KOs) and George Kambosos Jr. (21-2, 10 KOs) will meet this Tuesday, January 30th, at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT for their press conference to announce their clash for the vacant IBF lightweight title for Sunday, May 12th in Perth, Australia [May 11th in the U.S].
Most boxing fans see this as an easy win for Lomachenko against Kambosos, and they wonder why Loma isn’t being matched against a better contender in the IBF’s rankings.
Unless Kambosos Jr. has improved since his last fight against Maxi Hughes, it will be a one-sided shutout on May 12th. Of course, you can’t rule out a controversial decision because Lomachenko will be fighting in Kambosos’s home country of Australia, and you never know.
The former IBF, WBA & WBO lightweight champion Kambosos Jr. got his work cut out to try and defeat the former three-division and two-time Olympic gold medalist Lomachenko in this clash.
Kambosos, 30, had problems last July. He barely beat Maxi Hughes by a 12-round majority decision to snap his two-fight losing streak. If the Aussie Kambosos had lost that fight, it might have been time to call it a day.
Losing to Lomachenko won’t have the same effect on Kambosos Jr’s career, but it would still be a tough pill to swallow because it would be his third defeat in his last four fights.
If you count the Hughes fight as a loss, as many do, it would be George’s fourth straight defeat and a clear signal. that he’s not good enough to cut the mustard against the best at 135.
Kambosos’s high point of his career came in 2021 when he defeated a ring-rusty IBF/WBA/WBO lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez by a twelve-round split decision. However, Kambosos Jr. promptly lost four titles in his first defense against Devin Haney in June 2022.
Lomachenko is coming off a controversial 12-round unanimous decision defeat against Haney last May at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Most fans saw Lomachenko winning that fight handily, but the Nevada judges gave it to Devin, the new blood.