By Sean Jones: Oleksandr Usyk says he wants to see his friend Vasily Lomachenko challenge George Kambosos Jr. for the undisputed lightweight championship next following Loma’s win over Richard Commey last Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Lomachenko (16-2, 11 KOs) called out Kambosos (20-0, 10 KOs) after his win over Commey, saying he wants him next and would be willing to travel to Australia if need be to fight him.
Loma may have scared off Kambosos
Whatever slim chance that the two-time Olympic gold medalist Lomachenko had of winning the Kambosos lottery, he probably lost it with his dominating 12 round unanimous decision win over Commey last Saturday night.
That was a masterclass performance from Lomachenko, who looked as good as ever in dominating Commey in a one-sided victory.
Now it’s up to Kambosos and his promoter Lou DiBella whether they want to set up a fight with the former three-division world champion Lomachenko next or go for an arguably safer target against WBC 135-lb belt-holder Devin Haney or former interim WBC lightweight champion Ryan Garcia.
Kambosos’ feet may not be touching the earth in terms of his stratospheric ego, but he’s not crazy to where he’s going to stumble into a massacre by choosing Lomachenko as his next opponent.
The Australian obviously knows his limitations, which is why he’ll probably steer clear of fighting Lomachenko next.
Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis isn’t a realistic option for Kambosos, given the unlikelihood that Mayweather Promotions will agree to let him fight in Australia. If Kambosos wants Tank Davis (26-0, 24 KOs) next, he’ll probably need to come to the U.S for that content to happen in Las Vegas.
Usyk wants Lomachenko to fight Kambosos
“I want him to fight for the undisputed championship [against George Kambosos Jr],” said Usyk to Fighthype when asked who he wants Lomachenko to fight next.
“Yes, of course, I need this chance,” said Lomachenko when asked if he would like to fight Kambosos next for the undisputed lightweight championship.
“Of course, I will go anywhere I need to go to fight him,” said Lomachenko when asked if he’d be willing to travel to Australia to face Kambosos for his four belts.
“I will go further than even Devin Haney,” Lomachenko said when told that WBC lightweight champion Haney said he’s willing to travel to the distant planet Jupiter to face Kambosos.
“And I said my goal is the undisputed lightweight world champion. I stay at 135, and I need four belts,” Lomachenko said when asked if he’d be interested in facing Shakur Stevenson next.
It’s too bad Usyk isn’t the guy that is calling all the shots because then the boxing public would see a great fight between Kambosos and Lomachenko next.
Instead, Kambosos is the shot-caller, and he’ll go in the path of least resistance by fighting the weak-chinned Haney or Ryan Garcia. Sean Jones sees it as one of those two that will be hand-picked by Kambosos.
If you were to put my feet to the fire, I’d say King Ryan gets selected by George. Although Ryan doesn’t hold a belt, he’s got almost a million followers on social media and is much more popular than Haney.
Also, it’s doubtful that Kambosos likes the idea of chasing Haney around the ring for 12 rounds and needing the jaws of life to pry him off of him when he starts with the nonstop clinching.
In Haney’s last two fights against Joseph ‘Jojo’ Diaz Jr. and Jorge Linares, he was like a giant Sea Lamprey with the way he attached himself to those two fighters, refusing to let go and needing to be peeled off by the referee.
Herring reacts to Lomachenko win
“It’s what I thought was going to happen,” said Jamel Herring to Boxing Social in reacting to Lomachenko’s win over Richard Commey last Saturday night.
“It’s not anything against Richard Commey, but Lomachenko is just a phenomenal fighter and a guy on a different level.
“The first two rounds, I thought it was going to be a firefight, but then Lomachenko being Lomachenko, he picked it up, and that ring IQ kicked in, and it was a completely different fight from round three onward.
“Some people take it as being compassionate, and some people take it as being arrogant,” Herring said when asked about his thoughts on Lomachenko motioning to Commey’s corner during the seventh round for them to throw in the towel after he knocked him down and had him hurt.
“It’s the fight game, and we know what we signed up for. Of course, they were probably looking at him like it’ll look bad on Commey’s corner to listen to what the fighter, the opponent [Lomachenko], was telling them what to do.
“So, I could understand why they just ignored it and kept Commey in the fight,” Herring said in trying to understand why Commey’s corner didn’t follow Lomachenko’s direction to have the contest halted during the seventh.
“He [Commey] kept throwing back, even though he was getting hit with some heavy shots, and he kept fighting back. Maybe that was the reason why the referee didn’t jump in and stop the fight,” Herring said on why Commey’s corner didn’t listen to Lomachenko.
It was a tough situation Commey’s corner was in during the seventh round, as they would have looked weak in the eyes of the boxing public if they’d followed Lomachenko’s directions to halt the contest after he’d been dropped.
Loma should fight KambososÂ
Former WBO super featherweight champion Herring would like to see Lomachenko challenge Kambosos for his undisputed lightweight championship next, but it’s not up to him to decide.
As Kambosos’ promoter Lou DiBella says, the Australian is the “Emperor” at 135 and can call the shots on who he wants to fight next. As a result, if Kambosos (20-0, 10 KOs) wants to fight Lomachenko, he will.
Sean Jones believes Kambosos will avoid fighting Lomachenko at all costs, knowing what will happen if he takes that fight. Kambosos will go for the easier mark by choosing Ryan Garcia or Devin Haney.
What hurts Haney’s chances of getting the fight with Kambosos was his boring victory over Joseph ‘Jojo’ Diaz earlier this month on December 4th.
That was pretty dull stuff to watch, as Haney played it safe on the outside, throwing jabs, moving constantly, and tying up Jojo to prevent him from throwing.
It’s easy to predict that Haney will do the same thing against Kambosos to shut down his offense, and it’ll be boring to watch. Kambosos has less offensive firepower than Jojo Diaz, so Haney will have an easier time reducing his punch output to little more than a trickle.
“In terms of contenders, he’s definitely the top dog for those belts,” said Herring when asked where Lomachenko ranks at 135 among the contenders lining up to fight for a world title.
“I mean, obviously, George Kambosos holds the majority of those belts, but easily he [Lomachenko should be able to get a fight with either Haney or Kambosos next.
“We still would like to see him fight Gervonta Davis, but Lomachenko is still basically one of the best fighters in the division, even without a belt.
“You never know this is boxing,” said Herring when asked about him possibly facing Lomachenko one day. “Real fighters want to test themselves, but for me, I have to earn that right.
“I’m happy to see that he’s getting back to where he wants to be and where he belongs,” said Herring about Lomachenko. “So much respect to Lomachenko, and I hope he does get the Kambosos fight.
“He says he’ll go to Australia to fight him, so make it happen,” said Herring about Lomachenko being willing to travel to Australia to challenge undisputed lightweight champion Kambosos Jr. for his four titles.