Next week, the George Kambosos Jr. vs. Vasily Lomachenko fight will be announced for May 12th for the vacant IBF lightweight title at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.
It’s not ideal for the fight in May, considering both fighters have been out of the ring for some time. Lomachenko will be coming off a year-long layoff since his last fight against Devin Haney in May 2023. For his part, Kambosos will be returning from ten months out of action.
Former unified lightweight champion Kambosos Jr. (21-2, 10 KOs) will have the home-country advantage over the former three-division world champion Lomachenko (17-3, 11 KOs), which may not sit right with a lot of boxing fans, but this is where the money is at for this fight. It likely wouldn’t sell out if it were held in the U.S.
King Kong vs. The Matrix
‘Ferocious’ or ‘Emperor’ Kambosos is a pressure fighter trying to regain his position after consecutive losses to Devin Haney in Australia in 2022.
Although Kambosos snapped his two-fight losing straight last July with a twelve-round majority decision over Maxi Hughes in Shawnee, Australia, ‘Ferocious’ showed no improvement in his game, and many people felt he deserved his third consecutive defeat.
That was a tough style match-up for Kambosos Jr. to take on Hughes in what should have been a rebuilding fight. With the way Kambosos fought, he didn’t take the correct approach to the fight by failing to pressure Hughes until late in the contest.
Against Lomachenko, Kambosos will need to apply constant pressure on him the way Haney did his victory last year over the two-time Olympic gold medalist.
Lomachenko should have won his last fight against Haney, but he took his foot off the throttle in the last two rounds, allowing the younger fighter to steal a decision.
The Stakes Don’t Lie
Kambosos-Lomachenko will fight for the vacant IBF lightweight title, which will put the winner in a position for bigger fights. If victorious, Lomachenko would be champion again for the first time since losing his WBA, WBO, and Ring lightweight titles to Teofimo Lopez in 2020.
Lomachenko will likely be the favorite to win this fight, but it’s unclear whether he has anything left after his loss to Haney and 12 months out of the ring. The 30-year-old Kambosos Jr. might have too much youth and size on his side for Lomachenko to overcome.
