Vasily Lomachenko and George Kambosos Jr. will compete for the vacant lightweight title this Saturday, May 11, on ESPN at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. The event begins at 10:00 pm ET on ESPN and ESPN+.
This is the IBF 135-lb belt that Devin Haney vacated when he moved up to light welterweight. Lomachenko lost to Devin in a controversial decision last year in May, so now he gets another chance to win one piece of the four belts that his victor previously held.
Kambosos on Shaky Ground
Technically, former United lightweight champion Kambosos will fight at home, but he's from Sydney, so he's not in familiar territory. However, if a fight is on the cards and if it is close, you have to think that Kambosos will be given the decision.
I hope it's not a controversial result because that would look bad, especially if Lomachenko gets the business, like he did in his last fight with Haney. Lomachenko won that fight in the eyes of many people, but the judges gave it to the younger fighter.
It's unclear why Kambosos isn't fighting in Sydney or Melbourne, but it could be a sign that he's not as popular as he once was after his two losses to Haney and his questionable win over Maxi Hughes.
Kambosos looked really bad, dominating Hughes as badly as he did in his two losses to Haney, but the judges gave it to him. I got it 11-1 from Hughes.
It's safe to say that Kambosos' Cinderella moment is gone, and he's back to the ham & egger fighter he was before his surprise win over Teofimo Lopez in 2021. This was a perfect storm that worked for Kambosos, as he was victorious against Teo. , who was emaciated, rusty, injured, and took him lightly.
If it were just two of those things, Teofimo would have won, but he didn't know about all four of his opponents.
Saturday night's undercard is a mixed bag of fights that die-hard boxing fans will love, but not all that unusual.
Undercard
Andrew Moloney vs. Pedro Guevara
Imam Khataev vs. Ričards Bolotņiks
Lucas “Big Daddy” Browne vs. Hemi Ahio
Faiga Opelu vs. Joe Goodall
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