PERTH, Australia – When George Kambosos steps into the ring on Sunday (Saturday, 10 p.m. EST in the U.S., ESPN/ESPN+) to face Ukrainian megastar Vasily Lomachenko, his attention won’t be on winning the vacant IBF title in lightweight who is in front of us grabs. There will also be no mention of the upcoming payday of the monster he calls “the biggest fight in Australian history”. Instead, Kambosos focuses on one thing and one thing only: its heritage.
How he is perceived as a fighter, both now and after he hangs up the gloves, is something Kambosos (21-2, 10 KO) has been focusing his attention on since the megafight with Lomachenko (17-3, 11 KO). officially announced in January. Each media appearance during the preparations gave Kambosos the opportunity to discuss how significant a victory over the two-time Olympic gold medalist and three-division champion would be and what impact it would have on his mark on the sport.
“For me, it’s about legacy. Nothing more,” a defiant Kambosos said earlier this year. “He made money, I made money. He won the belts, I won the belts. I’ve been in substantial fights [and] he fought the best. I’ve won substantial fights and lost substantial fights. But this is the legacy here; the fate of both boys. We don’t have to exaggerate or create any stories or headlines. These are two warriors coming together to fight.”
The legacy Kambosos is alluding to and seeking is a place in the coveted International Boxing Hall of Fame, an honor that has so far been bestowed upon only five Australians – Jeff Fenech, Kostya Tszyu, Peter Jackson, Youthful Griffo and Les Darcy.
Kambosos and his camp are convinced that a victory over the great Lomachenko, even though he is 36 years aged and in the twilight of his career, will strengthen his resume to such an extent that his entry into the ultra-exclusive fight club will become undeniable.
“This fight cements me in the Hall of Fame, I truly believe in it. They can’t deny it,” Kambosos said. “What I’ve achieved, the fighters I’ve been able to fight, the events I’ve been able to bring to Australia… how can they deny Kambosos’s resume?”
The problem with legacy is that it doesn’t just trend in a positive direction. And while Kambosos will rightfully throw flowers at his feet if he manages to upset Lomachenko, a loss will only reinforce the narrative of one great fight that many have formed over the past 24 months, which have been rather disappointing.
Kambosos rose to fame in November 2021 when he caused not only ESPN’s 2021 Upset of the Year, but also one of the biggest boxing upsets of the 21st century. The unheralded Sydneysider traveled to Fresh York and handed unified American star Teofimo Lopez his first – and still only – defeat by split decision. It was the fight that earned Kambosos the spoils of the lightweight championship belts and launched his international boxing career.
But two and a half years later, that night begins to seem more anomalous than usual.
Kambosos lost his belts six months later after a one-sided 116-112, 116-112, 118-110 loss to Devin Haney in Melbourne. His rematch with the undefeated American four months later was even more lopsided, with Haney once again humiliating the former champion in his home country 119-109, 118-110, 118-110.
Kambosos was scheduled to return to the ring in mid-2023 when he faced Maxim Hughes, and the fight ended in a highly controversial manner. The Englishman put in the best performance of his career, passing Kambosos and leaving him bloody and bruised, but it was the Australian who nodded 114-114, 117-111, 115-113 as a chorus of boos rang out around the Firelake Arena in Oklahoma.
Controversy aside, the victory breathed life into Kambosos’ career. Attention Lomachenko.
Kambosos and Lomachenko, the former longtime unified lightweight champion, were scheduled to fight for the undisputed honors of the Australian summer of 2022. However, those plans were thwarted when Lomachenko opted to return to his family during the war in Ukraine, opening the door for the fight for Haney to step in and fight Kambosos. Although the fight between Lomachenko and Kambosos did not materialize, it remained on boxing’s radar and was eventually considered the main act of a blockbuster bill in the Australian city of Perth.
The biographies of Kambosos and Lomachenko may be completely different, but both players have one thing in common: defeats against Haney. But unlike Kambosos, who was completely outclassed twice, many felt Lomachenko had done enough to earn the judges’ approval when he fought Haney last May. This was the last we saw of Lomachenko in the ring and it was a performance that certainly showed he still had a lot left in the tank.
For that reason, and with the increasing likelihood of a Lomachenko-Shakur Stevenson mega-fight if the Ukrainian is able to make the salute, Kambosos has been listed as a 7-1 underdog by oddsmakers for Sunday’s fight, per ESPN BET. And as was the case when Kambosos fought Lopez at Madison Square Garden in 2021, few would argue the Australian can pull off an upset. But it doesn’t bother him. In fact, Kambosos is enjoying his underdog status and plans to withdraw his highly credible opponent.
“Once I beat Lomachenko, there will be no way for him to go,” Kambosos said at an official press conference in Perth on Thursday afternoon, during which both fighters stared down for three minutes. “It’s retirement for him, I really believe that.
“The way I spar, the way I fire up every engine. The speed I have… he’s never seen that kind of speed and explosive power. The will, the heart that I have, the desire to win it I want it very badly. I prepared extremely demanding for this fight.
Kambosos knows perfectly well that a high-profile fight with Lomachenko gives him a chance to regenerate his boxing career and regain his position as one of the top fighters in the division. However, a third loss in four fights would be a hammer blow to his career, one that would send him tumbling down the lightweight rankings and almost certainly banish him from future world title fights.
“[After this fight] only one of us will continue his career,” Kambosos said. “One of us won’t go where we want. So I’m very motivated. I know he’s motivated.”
Fighting for the first time with the full support of his promoter, Salita Promotions, undefeated Brooklyn heavyweight Pryce Taylor later said he was confident and confident he could do well in boxing.
Taylor (5-0, 3 KO), 28, defeated KeShawn Jackson last Thursday night in Flint, Michigan, fighting in an exhibition put on by his promoter in which he recorded an impressive third-round stoppage to finish his 2024 campaign on a high. year note.
“It was good to fight on a bigger stage, in a compact arena, in a nice atmosphere,” Taylor said about his first fight with a promotional contract. “My manager, Keith Sullivan, supported me by agreeing to sign with Salita Promotions. He talked to several promoters, but we felt that Dimitri Salita would be the right candidate for me.
“I felt like I had succeeded; I felt essential, but that was just the beginning. It was the same on fight night, I felt respect and appreciation from the entire Salita promotional company. My goal is to be a more recognizable player and be recognized by the fans. I’m hungry to perform in the coming year.”
“Four knockdowns were counted. I really hurt him with a body shot and when he felt my power he was done. I threw a barrage of punches into the corner (ss photo below) and he tried to hit me with a windmill punch. Then I hit him with a check hook, which ended the fight. He (Jackson) didn’t want to get knocked out, so he tried to show he was still fighting.”
“Of course,” Sullivan commented, “I’m joyful with the victory. This was another developmental fight and Pryce is learning and developing as a fighter. We had a busy year with 8 fights scheduled and 5 that actually crossed the line, so it was a very good first year for him as a pro. Right after that, I talked to Dimitri to arrange the next fight. We hope to have it scheduled in the coming weeks.”
Looking ahead to 2025, Taylor wants his next fight to be a six-rounder scheduled for his next outing, then move up to eight to fight for the junior title.
“I will now train to play 10 rounds,” Taylor concluded, “so that I will be ready when it comes time to play 12 rounds.”
Oleksandr Usyk’s rematch with Tyson Fury on Saturday night will go down in history for several reasons, but now there are more of them than any other.
Turki Alalshikh has confirmed that the Usyk vs. Fury 2 fight will be supervised by an AI referee in a first-of-its-kind boxing event. Artificial intelligence statistics are nothing recent in sports and have been developed for years by companies such as JABBR, which claim that “technological progress eliminates elements of human error from sports.”
AI referee overseeing the Usyk vs Fury 2 fight
Riyad’s season leader, Alalshikh, has taken the first step to ensure the future of the sport where all boxers who deserve to win receive their reward. The fourth scorer will only be present this time to check the score, but if he proves successful, he may become a indefinite player in the sport.
Explaining his intentions, Alalshikh said: “For the first time in history, the fight will be monitored by an artificial intelligence referee. [The judge will be] Free from bias and human error, which The Ring offers you [his recently purchased magazine].
“This groundbreaking experiment, which will have no impact on official results, will debut during the biggest fight of the century, Usyk vs. Fury 2, on December 21. Don’t miss the history in the making,” he added.
The news came during the Grand Arrivals event, which featured a monumental clash that will see Usyk and Fury fight for a unified heavyweight crown at the Kingdom Arena. Usyk [20-0, 13 KOs] puts his WBC, WBA and WBO belts on the line against former two-time heavyweight champion Fury [33-1-1, 24 KOs]. The highly anticipated rematch will take place on Saturday, December 21, worldwide on DAZN PPV at 11:00 a.m. ET.
Usyk vs Fury card information updated
Former interim WBC 154-pound titleholder Serhii Bohachuk [24-2, 23 KOs] Now he will face British boxer Ishmael Davis [13-1, 6 KOs] in a 12-round super welterweight fight after Israil Madrimov was forced to withdraw due to illness.
Rising heavyweight star Moses Itauma [22-0, 10 KOs] and his opponent, Australian Demsey McKean (22-1, 14 KO), are ready to fight. Undefeated Johnny Fisher [12-0, 11 KOs[ squares off against former Commonwealth title challenger Dave Allen [23-6, 18 KOs].
Meanwhile, former Commonwealth Games gold medalist Peter McGrail [10-1, 6 KOs] takes over from Rhys Edwards at the last minute [16-0, 4 KOs] in a super featherweight fight. Isaac Lowe is also on the bill [25-2-3, 8 KOs[ will face Lee McGregor [14-1-1, 11 KOs] in a featherweight fight.
Daniel Lapin completes the card [10-0, 4 KOs]in which he will face another undefeated lightweight champion prospect, Dylan Colin [14-0, 4 KOs]and heavyweight knockout artist Andrii Novytskyi [14-0, 10 KOs] will face Edgar Ramirez [10-1-1, 4 KOs].
As is the tradition of the season, Riyad will feature local talent as Mohammed Alakel looks for a 2-0 win over Joshua Ocampo [8-33-5, 6 KOs].
Former two-time world champion and cancer survivor Billy Dib won an eight-round super lightweight farewell bout against Game, the brave but outclassed Atilla Kayabasi.
The Z’s, aka all-time greats Carlos Zarate and Alfonso Zamora, brought “Billy The Kid” to the ring accompanied by the sweet tones of Frank Sinatra singing My…what else? Adolescent Bridger Walker performed Round Card duties between rounds.
Billy gave us a virtuoso performance, making Atilla’s face turn red with every strike on the book. The gulf of experience and a cascade of blows would have defeated a weaker man, Atilla survived it. Billy raised his hand moments before the bell rang to end the eighth and final round.
By winning his last fight, the WBC Champion of Hope achieved the impossible. He and Atilla embraced, and WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman entered the ring to say: “This is an extraordinary dream come true. Now we welcome Billy outside the ring.”
Dib said, “Alhamdulillah, I won and left on my own terms. There’s no better way to close this chapter. Thank you to Mauricio Sulaiman, my wife, my son Laith, my family and my amazing fans for all the love. I dedicate this victory to Israel Vázquez, every cancer warrior, and to my brother Vames.”
Billy brave. Billy the fearless one who fought against the darkest and most pressing adversities. Our tears of joy and admiration for the Hero who always smiles, even in the darkest hour, before the dawn.
The results of the glorious fight night organized at the 62nd World Boxing Council Convention at the Grand Elysee Hotel saw several hard-fought fights for the WBC championship from nuclear to heavyweight.
In the main fight of the evening, WBC super flyweight champion Asley González successfully defended her title against Mary Romero.
The more compact and harder-hitting Asley pursued a longer-armed, short-haired opponent who was constantly spinning in retreat.
There was some heated exchanges when they came together, but the lasting combinations came from Asley, who actually got caught with some tough, but single, solitary rights. Her level of work, more precise, concise beam punches and high-pressure fighting forcing Mary to constantly retreat won UD over.
Tough-hitting southpaw striker Mourad Aliev defended his WBC International Silver heavyweight title with a sixth-round KO victory over Davide Brito. Physically more imposing, Mourad made contact and often.
In the third round, David suffered a nosebleed and his mouthguard was broken, causing him to fall from one side of the ring to the other. He tried to fight back sporadically, but in round six he was trapped on the ropes and dropped by a massive right hand. Everything is over.
Serkay Comert won the WBC International silver title by defeating Yassin Hermi via UD. In the third round, it turned into an all-out war, which continued into the next round.
Serkay often struggled against the ropes and landed frequently. Yassin’s face swelled and in the sixth round a series of punches landed on him, and before the eighth round the ring doctor looked at him for a long time. He fought tough but got hit, especially down the stretch.
Ermal Hadribeaj won the MD title by defeating Eddy Colnenares to win the WBC International super welterweight belt. The lanky, much taller Eddy, who has the reach of an albatross, was shaky for the first three rounds. He then came to life and there was a lively exchange of words.
Southpaw Ermal was constantly jumping and weaving to avoid those long ramrod arms. He was more concerned with getting the win.
Benjamin Gavazi defeated Branimir Malencia in the tenth and final round to win the WBC international silver featherlight heavyweight title. Ben was catching Bran with right hands and various uppercuts. While Bran tried to crowd him and deal damage from head to toe. Two left-right headshot combinations in round ten convinced Bran to throw in the red towel at 1.41. So… TKO.
Esneidy Rodriguez defeated Sana Hazuki via UD for the WBC Silver Atomweight belt. The taller Suri tried to keep him at bay, but was relentlessly pursued by the more compact and powerful and grimly determined Esneidy, who landed several piercing combos and uppercuts. Suri had some success with long straight rights, but paid the price when Esneidy negated the range.
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