George Kambosos Jr. will attempt to reinvent himself by moving up to 140 to face fringe contender Mathieu Germain in February in Australia.
It’s a long overdue move by the Aussie Kambosos because he’s not cut out for the well-stocked lightweight division, and he needs to compete in a weight class with more opportunities for a fighter of his talent level.
Kambosos, 31, signed a co-promotional deal with Matchroom Boxing, who will look to steer him into a world title shot. Promoter Eddie Hearn isn’t expected to match Kambosos against anyone risky until he gets a world title shot at 140.
He’s shown too much vulnerability in the last two years with his 1-3 record to be pitted against one of the top contenders. It would be fun to see Kambosos be given a proper welcome greeting to the welterweight division against former IBF champion Subriel Matias.
The former IBF and WBO lightweight champion Kambosos (21-3, 10 KOs) must make drastic changes to save his sinking ship, which may be beyond saving.
Boxing News broke the story of Kambosos moving up to face the 35-year-old Germain, ranked #12 with the IBF at light welterweight. Germain (25-2-1, 10 KOs) is a Canadian with knockout losses to Yves Ulysse Jr and Uriel Perez.
Germain has never beaten any notable fighters for him to be given a #12 ranking with the IBF, but it probably doesn’t matter. Kambosos Jr. uses him to get his feet wet in the 140-lb division.
Mathieu Germain’s Recent Wins
– Cristian Palma
– Zsolt Osadan
– Jose de Leon Jasso
– Steven Wilcox
With an abysmal record of 1-3 [it should be 0-4 if you count the Maxi Hughes fight as a loss], Kambosos Jr’s ship has reached the water line and is about to go under. Moving up to 140 is the last hope for the ‘Emperor’ Kambosos.
The “Emperor” Kambosos’ Decline
Since his upset win over a ring-rusty, unmotivated, and mentally disengaged IBF/WBO 135-lb champion Teofimo Lopez in 2021, Kambosos has suffered two defeats to Devin Haney and a knockout loss to Vasily Lomachenko.
In his last fight, Kambosos was stopped in the 11th round by Lomachenko on May 12th in a failed bid to capture the vacant IBF lightweight title in Perth, Australia. The way that Loma dominated Kambosos was troubling because it wasn’t even slightly competitive. Lomachenko looked like the same fighter he’d been when he started his professional career in 2013.
There’s not much chance of Kambosos losing to Germain, but he must impress in this fight for him to be taken seriously as a viable opponent for one of the champions. He’s likely going to target WBO champion Teofimo Lopez for a rematch because that’s a match that would pay.
Moreover, Kambosos already beat Teofimo once, so he might get lucky a second time if Teo shows up in the same form as their clash three years ago.
Kambosos has made millions from his fights against Devin Haney, Teofimo, and Lomachenko, So if he fails to succeed again, he can live well as a wealthy millionaire in Australia.
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