It’s been a pretty unpredictable boxing year, to say the least. We’ve seen some big upsets, we got a heavyweight fight that, though no-one was really too bothered about seeing it happen, became an instant classic, and we’ve seen some news stars emerge. Right now, Australian warrior George Kambosos Jr is the lower weight fighter everyone is talking about. Courtesy of his massive upset win over Teofimo Lopez, which was a great action fight as well as a huge upset, Kambosos Jr is sitting extremely pretty.
What everyone is asking now is, who next for Kambosos Jr? Another good question is, can Kambosos Jr remain as lightweight champion for a considerable amount of time; can he string together some title defences the way we thought “Takeover” Lopez would do after scoring his own big upset, this over Vasyl Lomachenko last October? Is Kambosos Jr, currently 20-0(10), a champion to stay, or will his reign prove short-lived?
The good news for Kambosos Jr is the fact that he has NO lack of credible, in fact, great future opposition to shoot for. But the bad news is this: the top guys we are now looking forward to seeing Kambosos Jr fight over the coming months are all massively talented fighters and they are all a very real threat to him.
Will it be Devin Haney next for Kambosos Jr; if Haney, the WBC lightweight champ, gets past Jo Jo Diaz in early December? This one makes a lot of sense, as it would be, amongst other things (a clash of styles, a clash of unbeaten fighters), a unification showdown.
Will it be Loma next for Kambosos Jr, if the former ruler who some say is still the most talented 135 pounder out there can win his comeback fight with Richard Commey? Is Kambosos Jr clever enough to get in there and pull out a win over the man with the “Matrix” style and approach?
Could Kambosos Jr fight Tank Davis next? This one would be a real test for the new lightweight boss; against the hardest puncher, he would have ever shared a ring with. Davis also has an upcoming assignment he must first take care of, against Isaac Cruz, also in early December. But Tank against Kambosos Jr would perhaps give us a real classic.
Or might Ryan Garcia get the first shot at Kambosos Jr? Garcia, like Haney, took to social media to call for the fight almost as soon as Kambosos Jr had left Team-Lopez in a state of disbelief, with Garcia stating how he will fight Kambosos Jr in “my return fight.” This one would also be a most attractive fight.
In fact, all of the most obvious choices for Kambosos Jr are most attractive (and though a rematch with Lopez may be most unlikely; Lopez instead seemingly set to move up to 140, the sequel cannot be completely ruled out). There isn’t a bad fight in the bunch, nor is there any easy or safe fight for the new champ. It’s been said many times that, in boxing, it’s tough winning a world title, but it’s even tougher holding onto it. The next few months, maybe even the next fight he takes could really test Kambosos Jr hard.
What’s your pick: Kambosos Jr is a champ to stay or a champ to go in 2022?