Promoter Eddie Hearn has signed former unified lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr. to his Matchroom team, which could lead to a fast world title fight against IBF 140-lb champion Liam Paro in 2025.
Kambosos’s 15 minutes of fame from his win over Teofimo Lopez are over, but he’s a useful cog for Hearn to mix and match Paro again to expand Matchroom’s presence in the Australian market. There’s a strategy behind Hearn inking Kambosos, who has lost three out of his last four fights.
Kambosos To Be Matched Tough
Interestingly, Kambosos has made millions since 2022 and is financially set for life from the money he made in his last four fights. Everything else is just gravy with his career, and he obviously can make a lot of cash fighting IBF light welterweight champion Liam Paro in Australia on PPV.
Hearn is expected to match Kambosos tough, throwing him in with Paro or Richardson Hitchins for a title shot. There’s no point in Hearn babying Kambosos because he’s 31, not popular in the UK or the States, and vulnerable to even the bottom feeders at 140.
Kambosos’s Recent fights
– Vasily Lomachenko: TKO 11 loss
– Maxi Hughes: MD 12 win [very questionable]
– Devin Haney: UD 12 loss
– Devin Haney: UD 12 loss
Lomachenko destroyed Kambosos in his last fight, stopping him in the 11th round on May 12th in Perth, Australia. The ‘Emperor’ Kambosos had never been knocked out before in his 11-year career, and that had to be tough on him to lose in front of his fans.
Undersized At 140
This has a short contract written all over it, and I’d be surprised if Hearn has signed Kambosos for more than two fights. The 140-lb division is shark-infested and dangerous for a small, light puncher with limited ability like ‘The Emperor.’ The career survival rate for fighters of Kambosos Jr’s ability is limited in this weight class.
Kambosos would be a good opponent for Paro, Hitchins, Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia, or Jack Catterall. After that, he can be discarded like driftwood.
Kambosos was small for the 135-lb division, but it’s going to be far worse for him at 140, where he’ll be facing bigger, stronger fighters. It doesn’t matter, though, because he would be out of his league even if he were the same size as the talented fighters in the light welterweight division.
“I’m looking forward to making a statement. There are so many doors opening. This is a great move,” said Kambosos to Fighthype about his signing with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom.
“We always make the right business moves. We continue fighting the best, chasing the biggest fights, and continue building on my legacy.”
At this point, Kambosos sounds more like a clever businessman than a fighter. He got lucky once in his career with one big win over Teofimo Lopez but has been exposed repeatedly since 2022. He’s made a lot of money with his fights, and it’s got to be upsetting for the more talented fighters at 135 and 140 to watch Kambosos do well financially with his limited ability.
Although Kambosos, 31, is viewed as a one-hit-wonder by fans of his huge upset with Teofimo Lopez, he’s a character due to his self-confidence and his name recognition. Kambosos is one of the best boasters in the sport, and fans love to hate him. He’s a self-promoter type of person.
Kambosos To Be Fast-tracked
By signing the ‘Ferocious,’ Hearn won’t need to do as much work promoting because Kambosos doesn’t need help creating interest in his fights. He’ll do all the work for Hearn, talking up his fights, creating friction, and making fans laugh at him.
It likely won’t make Hearn fighter Jack Catterall happy to see Kambosos (21-3, 10 KOs) get a world title shot before him at light welterweight, but there’s a massive difference in star power.
Kambosos is a more well-known former unified world champion and has fought three of the big names, Teofimo Lopez, Devin Haney, and Vasily Lomachenko.
Welcome to the Team @georgekambosos – time to attack the 140lb division! @loudibella 🇦🇺🤝 pic.twitter.com/SjN3bfOQRo
— Eddie Hearn (@EddieHearn) November 22, 2024
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