By Adam Baskin: George Kambosos Jr says he has a “big stadium fight” in the pipeline against Vasily Lomachenko after securing the mandatory IBF lightweight position with a win over Maxi Hughes last Saturday night in Shawnee, Oklahoma.
(Courtesy of Mikey Williams/Top Rank)
Kambosos vs. Lomachenko could do big business in Australia at a massive 56,000+ seater Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, which was the venue for George’s first fight with Devin Haney.
Provided Australian fans show up to purchase tickets, there are great money to earn by Kambosos (21-2, 10 KOs) and #3 Lomachenko (17-3, 11 KOs) to be done later this year for the soon to be released IBF lightweight title.
Kambosos-Lomachenko will be huge
Commercially, a fight between Lomachenko and Kambosos makes a lot of sense. It would be a PPV matchup for Australian fans but obviously not for Americans.
Many people are angry after watching Kambosos win a controversial twelve-round majority decision over highly skilled southpaw Maxi Hughes (26-6-2, 5 KOs) last Saturday night, winning by the scores of 114-114, 117-111 and 115-113.
As the saying goes, ‘It’s a real bad wind that doesn’t do anyone any good. In this case, Lomachenko and the boxing public can benefit from a Loma – Kambosos fight because it will generate a lot of interest.
“I gave him a few more chances than I should have. He can think whatever he wants; I don’t mind,” Kambosos told the media when told Shakur Stevenson thought he lost to Hughes.
” Do not worry about me. I had all the belts in lightweight. We have a big stadium fight coming up“said Kambosos Jr.
“We will fight Lomachenko next. This is the fight. He is more open to throw his shots and engage. I want to commit, and this is a great fight that I stand up for,” said Kambosos Jr.
Looking back, Kambosos needed more left-handed practice before fighting a guy like Hughes because he looked ill-prepared and never figured out how to keep the left hand from hitting him the entire fight.
“I had the [IBO lightweight] belt; I won the world title and added it to my collection. It’s not one of the top four, but I have the other four [WBA, IBF, WBO, and Ring lightweight] sitting at home,” said Kambosos Jr.
left in the cold
“I just think Shakur is making a bit of noise because he wants the fight,” Kambosos’ father George Sr said.
Shakur Stevenson says if he can’t fight Devin Haney or Vasily Lomachenko, he will face Kambosos next. However, Shakur is unlikely to get any of these guys because Haney and Loma won’t fight him, and neither will Kambosos.
It’s unclear who Top Rank will face Stevenson against, but it certainly won’t be one of those three. What we’ll likely see is that Shaakur will fight one of these lightweight contenders next:
– Jamaine Ortiz
– Edwin DeLos Santos
– Michel Rivera
– Artem Harutyunyan
– Edwin DeLos Santos
–Raymond Muratalla
“Hey, Shakur, take the 25% against Devin Haney. What’s wrong? You can still make a lot of money, come on,” Kambosos Jr said, not admitting it. the offer was not real one by Haney.
“The thing is, you always get a crack at all the belts. Which is more important, belts or 25%? says Kambosos Sr.
Shakur could call Haney’s bluff and accept the 25% offer, but he still won’t get the fight as Devin has already decided to face WBC light welterweight champion Regis Prograis next.
This 25% offer was just a smokescreen from Haney to confuse the minds of the public. Devin doesn’t want to be in the Shakur fight anymore, and it’s fair to say he’ll never fight him unless Stevenson becomes a huge star where the money is worth it.
