George Kambosos Jr. says his May 12th fight against Vasily Lomachenko will end with one of them getting knocked out when they square off for the vacant IBF lightweight title at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.
The former unified four-belt lightweight champion Kambosos (21-2, 10 KOs) says he and Lomachenko (17-3, 11 KOs) will have their careers on the line for this contest.
A knockout by Kambosos, of all people, would be a massive blow to the 35-year-old Lomachenko’s career, seeing that he’s not viewed as a power puncher or one of the elite-level guys.
This is as good as it gets for Lomachenko to capture another world title at 135. If Loma can’t do it against Kambosos, he needs to move back down to 130 or 126 or possibly retire.
Lomachenko can still make money, even without capturing another world title, but chances of winning a belt at lightweight will be virtually zero if he can’t beat Kambosos.
The Shadow of Past Controversy
Kambosos is coming off of what many boxing fans feel was a questionable 12-round majority decision against British fighter Maxi Hughes last July in Oklahoma.
If you thought Teofimo Lopez’s recent win over Jamaine Ortiz was questionable, Kambosos’ victory over Hughes was a different plane.
That fight wasn’t even remotely close, but Kambosos was given the win, and here he is, fighting for the vacant IBF 135-lb division against Lomachenko.
For his part, Lomachenko is coming off a controversial loss to Devin Haney last May. While the boxing world saw Lomachenko deserving the win, the Nevada judging crew that worked the fight gave it to Haney.
Respect Ends in the Ring
“The way I look at it, careers are on the line. I think you’ll get that competitive nature, but there’s a lot of respect there from both sides,” said George Kambosos Jr. to TCB Network about his May 12th fight against Vasily Lomachenko in Australia.
“There’s a lot of respect for what we’ve achieved and the kind of fighters we are- warriors who bring action and excitement to the ring. Inside that ring, that’s where the respect ends,” Kambosos Jr. continued.
“That’s where he’s going to have to do what he does, and I’m going to do what I do. He might not like it, and I might not like it, but one of us is getting knocked out,” warns Kambosos.
