By Sean Jones: Former unified lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr will take on Maxi Hughes for his IBO 135-lb belt on July 22th in Oklahoma.
For Kambosos, this is a huge comedown in one year, going from being the IBF/WBA/WBO lightweight champion to challenging the IBO belt against the 33-year-old Hughes.
KAMBOSOS JR VS. HUGHES FIGHT DATE, START TIME
- Date: Saturday, July 22
- Time: 10 p.m. ET / 3 a.m. BST
- Main event ringwalks (approx): 11:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 a.m. BST
- The fight will take place at FireLake Arena in Shawnee, Oklahoma.
- The main card is set to get underway at 10 p.m. ET / 3 a.m. BST with the main event ringwalks scheduled for 11:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 a.m. BST. These timings could change due to the length of the undercard fights.
- The fight will be broadcast live on ESPN+ in the U.S.
On the positive side, at least Kambosos is fighting for a belt, even if it’s not one of the major ones. If he wins, he’s hoping it puts him in a strong position to fight for the IBF lightweight title, which Devin Haney currently holds.
Under an ideal scenario, Haney might face Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis and lose all four of his belts to him.
Once Tank has all four titles, Kambosos gets a massive payday fight against him and loses badly but adds more millions to his bank account. There’s a high possibility that it won’t play out like that.
Instead of Kambosos getting a lucrative fight against Tank Davis, he could wind up fighting someone like Gustavo Lemos, Lomachenko, or Isaac Cruz and losing badly for much smaller money than he would have had he won the lottery with a fight against Tank.
“I will stop him. I’m not just going to beat him; I will knock him out or seriously put a beating on this guy,” said Kambosos to the Dailymail AU about his fight with Hughes on July 29th.
“I am levels above Maxi Hughes. There is nothing he can do that I didn’t see against Devin Haney, let alone the 22 fights I’ve had in my career. I will win the fight, and Ferocious will be back.
“When I win this fight, I’m back in line for the IBF world title. I’m a big-name fighter, and I still deserve the biggest fighters,” said Kambosos.
Hughes won his IBO title against Jovanni Straffon in an upset in 2021. Since then, Hughes has beaten Ryan Walsh and Kid Galahad.
KAMBOSOS JR VS. MAXI HUGHES FIGHT CARD
- George Kambosos Jr vs. Maxi Hughes; Lightweight
- Keyshawn Davis vs. Francesco Patera; Lightweight
- Giovani Santillan vs. Erick Bone; Welterweight
- Mike Balogun vs. Hemo Ahio; Heavyweight
- Roney Hines vs. Michael Pirotton; Heavyweight
- Troy Isley vs. TBA; Middleweight
- Jeremiah Milton vs. TBA; Heavyweight