George Kambosos Jr. has confirmed he will share the ring with Vasily Lomachenko next month. But respect will be thrown aside if he tries to blunt the Ukrainian's iconic career in his quest to reclaim the lightweight title.
The Australian city of Perth is set for yet another star-studded lightweight bout as Lomachenko heads to Kambosos's backyard for the IBF world title on May 12.
Kambosos sees the contest as selling itself. He's not wrong.
Australian: Former unified lightweight world champion who broke his record by defeating Teofimo Lopez, who defeated Lomachenko. And Lomachenko is one of the faces of the modern era, winning an Olympic gold medal and world titles in three weight classes.
“This is a guy who was once the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, a three-division world champion, a two-time Olympic gold medalist,” Kambosos said. sky sports. “So we completely understand the honor he is in and of course we respect what he has done so far and outside of boxing he is a very good figure in the sport.
“But we respect what we've done so far. Style makes a fight. And the way we both take that action is going to be something special.” .I truly believe this will be a fight to remember.”
“As a man, as a human being, as a fighter, I can't fault him. But as much as I have that respect, when it comes to May 12th, that respect is out the window, and I'm sorry for his neck.” If I leave, he'll probably come and do the same thing to me.
“One career will continue and we will return to lightweight world number one and we will return to lightweight supremacy. Their reign will continue but the other guy, unfortunately, will not be able to progress to where they want to be. “And I'm very confident that with my preparation and how I feel right now, I'm going to be the guy that continues to reign. ”
Maxi Hughes lost the IBO world lightweight title to George Kambosos Jr. in a controversial majority decision in Oklahoma.
For Kambosos, this marks his first return to action since defeating Maxi Hughes by majority decision last July, and could serve as a bridge to other heavyweights dominating the top of the division. Until then, he had suffered back-to-back unanimous decision losses to former absolute champion Devin Haney, and in November 2021, he defeated Lopez to win the WBA (super), IBF, WBO, and Ring lightweight titles. He was raising his name.
Lomachenko is planning his own response after suffering a split decision loss to Haney in May 2023, his second-best result. Many pundits suggested that Lomachenko won this fight.
Victory is the door to even bigger nights. In contrast, the defeat raised unwanted questions for both about their next career moves.
“If I win, I can go back to being king of the lightweight division,” Kambosos said. “I was there until recently. Devin Haney was the last guy there and he’s vacant. So if you go back in history, I was one of the last guys who was king at lightweight. is.”
“It's going to push me back to that position. It's going to put me back to where I want to be, where I'm motivated. And I'm 30 years old. My path continues, a chance for bigger games against them. Like Gervonta Davis, Shakur Stevenson continues, and that's what I want, the biggest fight.
“If I can't beat a guy like Lomachenko, that chance doesn't really exist anymore. I know what's at stake. I know what's at stake, but that's what motivates me all the more.”
“The bigger the mission, the bigger the fight, the more Kamboso will come forward and prepare. So we know what we have to do.”
Lomachenko could be another addition to the impressive resume compiled by Kambosos, who continues to embrace the toughest challenges that boxing and its divisions have to offer.
He revealed that his preparation to face the 36-year-old Lomachenko actually involved sparring with the “next” Lomachenko.
“I know what he's going to bring,” he said. “You know, I’ve been sitting there studying this player since he was a little kid and watching Lomachenko.
“When I first turned pro, of course I've been watching him since his amateur days, and he was really the best amateur.When I sat there and watched them, I realized what I had to do. You can see what it is.”
Devin Haney turned in an even more convincing performance, leaving George Kambosos Jr. bruised and bloody at the final bell.
This is a long-awaited fight for Kambosos, whose plans to face Lomachenko were previously scrapped due to the return of Ukrainians after the Russian invasion.
There is an argument that a victory over the famous technician would justify another jump in the Australian's stock, especially amid controversy over whether Lomachenko beat Haney in a heated matchup between the pair.
“I've fought against the best. If you look at my record over the last six or seven fights, former world champions, world champions, undisputed champions, unified champions, two-time gold medalists, all the others. It's the players.'' We've fought many times in a row, but we've consistently wanted to fight against the best,'' he continued.
“Unfortunately, sometimes it's not recognized by certain boxing casuals, but true boxing fans and true people in the sport respect fighters like Kambosos.”
Kambosos, who fought 24 rounds in the ring together, said he and Haney have become friends since then. Haney moved up in weight and won the WBC super lightweight title against Regis Prograis in December.
He knows Lomachenko presents a different kind of fight.
Devin Haney defeated Vasily Lomachenko by close unanimous decision in a hard-fought battle in Las Vegas.
“Haney vs. Lomachenko? It's a very, very close fight,” Kambosos continued. “In my opinion, I think Devin took the final round and that fight may have cost Lomachenko, but it was a great fight either way. But again, a lot of people believes Lomachenko won that fight.”
“In some ways, Lomachenko could have been the undisputed champion right now, or maybe he wasn't. It's because people were like, 'Hey, this guy just beat Lomachenko, and he's like, 'Hey, this guy just beat Lomachenko.' It gave me an opportunity to push myself to the top like that.'' He was coming through a close race against a guy like Devin Haney. ”
“There were guys like Devin Haney who had a great jab, but was very avoidable and made the moves he did to win the fight. Lomachenko now has a different style and a different pot of food. “Will that wipe out the losses on paper? Obviously not.”But again, I take wins and losses as they come. ”
In contrast, Kambosos can afford to smile about his still-loving relationship with Lopez, who he lost to in 2020 and vacated the title.
Lopez was disapproving of Kambosos and the way he won. What does it mean that the two of you will never meet again?
Vasily Lomachenko was forced to work extremely hard, defeating Jamaine Ortiz on points to set up a fight with undisputed champion Devin Haney next.
“If he walked near me, and I think the same thing if I walked near him, it would light up,” he joked. “We don't like each other. There's bad blood there, and at the end of the day I can have the last laugh. I beat him, took his belt, And he can keep crying until he wants to find me on my terms.''
“I respect this fight, I respect this war, and I respect special matches like the one between me and Teofimo. It was a special fight, not just at Madison Square Garden and the boxing world, but for everyone watching.
“They're both young players, they're both hungry, they've had a lot of dates back and forth in their lead-up fashion, and when they actually get to play, there's a lot of bad blood. After that he couldn't stand it.'' Kambosos came, beat him and took everything away.
“I'm here to beat Lomachenko. That's my full focus. I'm not going to sit here and worry about the guys I've already beaten. I'm going to focus on beating a great fighter in Lomachenko.”
From a personal perspective, Kambosos is relishing the opportunity to bring a world title fight back to Australia and hopes to continue paving the way for more high-profile shows in Australia.
“It’s massive and a lot of the fighters here are doing great and they bring in certain fighters, big caliber guys, but Kambosos goes out and brings in these mega stars, these big caliber guys. I’m bringing in the stars,” he said. “Devin Haney has been here twice and obviously Lomachenko this time.
“It's a big deal and I'm very proud to have opened the door, but my focus is to win this fight again.
“We have to win this battle, no matter where we are.”
George Kambosos Jr. and Vasily Lomachenko will fight for the IBF lightweight world title in Perth, Australia on Sunday, May 12th, live on Sky Sports.
