Vasily Lomachenko says he views his fight against George Kambosos Jr. on Saturday night as not a war, but rather a “competition” for the IBF lightweight title.
The Business of Boxing
Lomachenko (17-3, 11 KOs) is looking to capture another world title after a year out of the ring, and Kambosos (21-2, 10 KOs), a fighter with a large following in Australia, is his opponent for their headliner at the RAC Arena in Perth.
With a 1-2 record in his last three fights, Kambosos isn’t the ideal contender for a world title fight on Saturday. However, he’s popular in Australia, and he’s bringing out the fans for their fight.
That’s arguably the real reason Kambosos is being given this opportunity to fight Lomachenko for the IBF title rather than a more deserving #1 ranked IBF contender William Zepeda (30-0, 26 KOs), who would likely make easy work of ‘The Emperor’ if given the chance.
Saturday’s Kambosos vs. Lomachenko fight will be shown on ESPN, ESPN Deportes & ESPN+ at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT.
Both of these guys can’t afford to lose this fight on Saturday, as neither are in a position to take another defeat without it hurting their career. Lomachenko is 36, and losing this level of fighter would be a signal that he is not going to win another world title.
Kambosos is viewed as a long shot in this fight, and if he gets trounced by Lomachenko, it’s going to be next to impossible for him to get another chance to compete for a world title.
As it is, it looks bad that Kambosos is being put in a position to fight for the vacant IBF lightweight title, given that he’s lost two out of his last three fights and is coming off a questionable win over Maxi Hughes.
It would look so obvious that Kambosos is being given preferential treatment if he loses to Lomachenko and is given another chance to compete for a belt after a couple of wins over lesser contenders.
Lomachenko: “A Competition, Not a War”
“This is going to be a memorable fight. For him, it’s a war. For me, it’s a competition,” said Lomachenko. “I have a goal. I need this title. My motivation is this title and to be world champion again.”
Read the full article here
