Date: Sunday, May 12
Main Event: Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. George Kambosos Jr.
Start Time: 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT
Streaming Details: Live on ESPN, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN+
Venue: RAC Arena, Perth, Western Australia
Down Under’s brawling monarch, George Kambosos Jr., is on the hunt for a shiny new strap, but he’s got a Ukrainian fighting wizard, Vasiliy Lomachenko, eyeing the same prize, itching to add another gold notch to his Hall of Fame belt.
The stage is set for a showdown over the vacant IBF lightweight world strap, tucked into a triple-header of world title tussles on a Sunday showdown, May 12 (May 11 in the US) in Perth’s RAC Arena. Keep your eyes peeled for the reveal of two more belt battles in the pipeline.
Lomachenko, with a pair of Olympic golds in his kit, won the featherweight crown in just his third pro outing and muscled his way to triple-division glory in record time. Despite being the little guy at lightweight, “Loma” toppled giants like Jorge Linares and company to hoist three belts. After a loss against Teofimo Lopez in 2020, he bounced back with a trio of victories and even did a stint defending his homeland amidst the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Last May, he was a whisper away from lightweight supremacy, narrowly missing the crown in a thriller against Devin Haney, with many fans having Loma as the winner.
Kambosos has been scrapping his way through the lightweight jungle since 2013, clinching the IBF top contender spot with a crafty win over Lee Selby in 2020. He then rocked the boxing world a year later, nabbing a split decision over Lopez to snatch the unified champion title. His dance with Haney for the undisputed crown pulled a massive crowd to Marvel Stadium, though he came up short. After a rematch defeat, “The Emperor” clawed back into the title scene with a gritty win over Maxi Hughes in 2023, setting the stage for another shot at the limelight.
George Kambosos Jr: “We’ll fight Lomachenko next”
A wild-eyed, stirred-up-looking George Kambosos Jr called out Vasily Lomachenko, saying that he wants the two-time Olympic gold medalist “next” in a stadium fight in Australia.
A fight between Lomachenko & Kambosos Jr is a mismatch on paper, and it’s difficult to imagine it being even slightly competitive.
Kambosos Jr is likely focusing entirely on the nice payday he will get fighting Lomachenko in front of a massive crowd in his native Australia. It would be a golden parachute for Kambosos to help give him a soft landing into his retirement after Lomachenko totally outclasses him.
Loma has made it clear that he wants to fight for belts, and he probably won’t entertain the idea of battling the former IBF/WBA/WBO/Ring lightweight champion Kambosos Jr without the IBF 135-lb belt on the line.
“We’ll fight Lomachenko next,” said George Kambosos Jr to Fight Hub TV following his controversial twelve-round majority decision over Maxi Hughes on July 22nd.
Just fighting Kambosos for the heck of it isn’t enough because Lomachenko will take tons of criticism for facing him rather than Shakur Stevenson for the WBC lightweight title.
For Loma to fight Kambosos next, he’d have to be willing to accept the backlash there would be from the boxing public after the Maxi Hughes debacle.
