Vasiliy Lomachenko (17-3, 11 KOs) will be looking to keep his dreams of becoming undisputed lightweight champion alive this weekend as he faces former unified champion George Kambosos Jr (21-2, 10 KOs) at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, on May 12 as they contest for the vacant IBF lightweight title. Lomachenko won titles at featherweight and super-featherweight, then stepped up to lightweight in his pursuit of undisputed status.
Vasily Lomachenko Has Been Here Before Many of Times
The Ukrainian became WBA lightweight champion against Jorge Linares in May 2018 with a 10th-round stoppage, unified the WBO and WBA titles in his next fight with Jose Pedraza in December 2018 via unanimous decision. Then he would win the vacant WBC lightweight title with a unanimous decision win in August 2019, before losing his titles to Lopez in October 2020 via unanimous decision. Lomachenko now requires another away victory to become a two-time lightweight champion. He got his chance last year against Devin Haney in May 2023, controversially losing via unanimous decision.
Haney’s two fights prior to that were back-to-back victories against Kambosos in 2022 before “Ferocious” rebounded in July with a disputed points win against Maxi Hughes to win the IBO title. Kambosos will be hoping for a more convincing win this time around. That will be no easy feat for the home fighter, as he faces one of the most gifted fighters of this era in Lomachenko. After Lomachenko and Haney’s fight last year, Haney vacated his four lightweight titles and moved up, and Lomachenko’s first fight back will be for the chance to collect the IBF title.
At 36, Lomachenko feels his rivals are more eager to face him than they were in the past, which he believes is a mistake. “I remember a time when I was the man nobody wants to fight,” Lomachenko said during the Redemption Road episode on Top Rank Boxing’s YouTube channel. “Right now, of course, everybody wants to fight with me because I became older, but right now, I feel dangerous. I still have my speed, my power, my condition.”
Looking at Lomachenko’s Resume vs Kambosos’
It can be argued that Lomachenko has not been given his deserved credit for his phenomenal achievements and skills, partly because he has had to compete outside his natural weight class against naturally bigger men for years. Regardless, many believed he beat a huge, filled-out Haney last year, although none of the judges agreed. Boxing can be the cruelest sport. Hair-thin decisions and the finest of margins can derail careers, with lasting stories of what could have been.
For Kambosos, it has been nothing of the sort. A series of very fortunate events have secured him several paydays. He has been the hometown fighter against some of the best boxers in the world. Initially, back-to-back close split decision wins against former champions Mickey Bey and Lee Selby secured Kambosos a shot at WBA, IBF, and WBO lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez. With an unfocused Lopez clearly distracted by outside-of-the-ring issues and the pressures of fame, a motivated and focused Kambosos capitalized. The pair traded knockdowns before Kambosos shocked the world with a split-decision win in November 2021.
At this point, Kambosos’ first defense was initially supposed to be a homecoming against Lomachenko before the Ukrainian withdrew from the fight due to the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
It was at this point that Haney was chosen as the alternative opponent, and Haney handily outpointed Kambosos in their undisputed showdown in Melbourne just over six months later, but Kambosos’ team had smartly inserted a rematch clause. Kambosos lost by an even wider margin the second time, but his bank balance had increased significantly. Kambosos has maximized profits out of his talent and reaped the rewards. Although Kambosos is not an elite fighter in any technical aspects of the sport, hard work and becoming a unified champion allowed him to have huge title fights against some of the world’s best boxers in his home country.
That really should have been the end of Kambosos’ time at the top of the 135 pound division, yet nine months later, he was partaking in a final eliminator for the IBF title in Texas. The Aussie was clearly out-boxed by an in-form Maxi Hughes, only to be gifted his fourth points win in six fights.
Will Home Field Advantage Play Into The Fight?
With home advantage, one has to wonder if Kambosos may pull another points win out of the bag against Lomachenko, with the Ukrainian maestro having enjoyed far less favoritism with judges over the years.
They say numbers don’t lie. In Lomachenko’s case, they are undoubtedly misleading. His pro career record of (17-3, 11 KOs) does not reflect his extraordinary skillset and genius. He had an unbelievable amateur career, with a reported (396-1) record, double Olympic gold, and a three-weight champion from 126 pounds to 135 in the pro ranks. Yet, his three decision losses have been debatable, to say the least.
Lomachenko was outweighed and shamelessly fouled throughout his second pro fight by a rough, bullying Orlando Salido. He made a late rally but lost a close decision to Lopez and then a very hotly disputed decision to Haney, who comfortably dealt with Kambosos twice. Against significantly naturally bigger men, all three of Lomachenko’s controversial defeats could have gone the other way with more favorable judges.
How Does Lomachenko vs Kambosos End?
Top Rank CEO has said that Lomachenko could face WBC champion Shakur Stevenson with a victory against Kambosos. This would be a huge step towards Lomachenko’s dreams of becoming an undisputed lightweight champion.
However, at 36 and with one fight in 19 months, could fortune favor Kambosos yet again? Kambosos feels this is the case and that the end is near for the Ukrainian maestro. At the final press conference, the Australian said: “When I beat Lomachenko, there will be no more road for him to go, so this is retirement for him.” Surely not.
Hughes, a capable boxer, confused Kambosos and nullified his aggression with smart footwork and distance control. Therefore, it would surely take a terrible decision, and we are talking one of the worst in recent memory, or a disastrous fade of reflexes, for a master boxer like Lomachenko not to prevail as the victor here. Lopez made glaring mistakes against Kambosos, enabling the Aussie to pull off the huge upset win. Lomachenko won’t make those same mistakes. The Ukrainian’s natural judgment of distance, brilliant combinations, and angles should see him come out as a wide winner on the scorecards or maybe even secure a late stoppage.
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