This coming at FireLake Arena in Shawnee, Oklahoma, former unified and lineal lightweight world champion George Kambosos Jr. will look to jump back into the winners circle after back-to-back defeats by the now undisputed lightweight champion of the world, Devin "The Dream" Haney.
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This is a make or break fight for Kambosos, as a single loss (let alone two losses in boxing) can completely destroy and derail an entire career. The 30-year-old boxer has expressed interest in fighting Gervonta "Tank" Davis, but first he needs to get through the lesser known Maxi Hughes on Saturday night. At 26-5-2 (5 KO), Hughes is the current IBO world champion heading into a fight that will be a 12-round IBF world title eliminator.
How George Kambosos Jr. Got Here
Photo by Graham Denholm/Getty Images for Bursty
Kambosos shocked the world in November of 2021, when he beat unified lightweight champion, Teofimo Lopez, who held the WBA, IBF, WBO, and Ring belts at the time of the fight. Kambosas came into this bout as the mandatory challenger for the IBF. George would use accurate combinations and a willingness to engage with the hard hitting Lopez, something that many of his previous opponents were apprehensive of doing. That was the advantage needed as Kambosos improved to 20-0 with the split decision win.
Kambosos was the unified lightweight champion of the world. He was originally slated to fight Vasiliy Lomachenko, but 'Loma' stayed in the Ukraine during the war, and Devin Haney stepped in as the replacement. Haney had the WBC lightweight title, so this became an undisputed bout. Haney traveled to Melbourne both times (even as the now undisputed champion of the world) and claimed a second win over the Aussie. Haney used a laser focused jab and beautiful boxing to out point, outclass and confuse the durable Kambosos.
0Some boxing experts and fans believe that Kambosos could even drop down in weight to fight at 130 in the Jr. Featherweight division. The 30-year-old likely wouldn't have a problem making that weight even though in the first weigh-in for Kambosos vs Haney, KG came in at 135.36 lbs, just over the 135 limit. On his second attempt an hour later, and within the two hour limit, Kambosos weighed in at 134.49 pounds. The money and some of the biggest names in boxing are in the lightweight division, and Kambosos has a big chip on his shoulder coming into this fight and wants to prove he belongs with the elite.
Tune in Saturday July 22 on ESPN+. The event is set to get underway at 8 pm ET, with the main event ring walks scheduled for 11 pm ET.
