Before he knew it, George Kambosos Jr.’s run on top of the lightweight division was over. After pulling off the upset against Teofimo Lopez in 2021, his bank account went through a makeover. With back-to-back appearances against Devin Haney soon after, however, Kambosos, if he wanted, never had to fight again. Nevertheless, those gigantic paydays came at a price.
Kambosos was dominated, hardly able to win rounds. Eventually, he was able to keep his head above water by scoring a controversial win against Maxi Hughes. His reward for slinking out of the ring with a victory will be a showdown against Vasiliy Lomachenko for the vacant IBF world title.
Kambosos (21-2, 10 KOs) knows he’s a big underdog but that hasn’t stopped him from talking a good game. Although an announcement hasn’t officially been made, BoxingScene.com reported that a date in mid-May is the likely outcome.
The Aussie is as confident as they come. Meaning, he couldn’t care less about the opinions of those saying he’s on his way to a beatdown. Still, while he isn’t paying attention to the doubters, Paulie Malignaggi felt the need to double down on what everyone else has been saying.
“I think he probably barely wins a round or doesn’t win a round in this fight either,” Malignaggi told Pro Box TV.
If that happens, it will be an embarrassing night for Kambosos. But for Malignaggi, he doesn’t view it that way. It’s unclear how much he’ll bring in but Kambosos figures to be depositing another hefty check.
Once he cashes it, Malignaggi believes Kambosos should probably call it a career with his winnings.
“I feel like he should retire after this fight,” continued Maliganggi. “He’s been able to set himself up financially in these fights. Credit to him for being able to maximize a win so well like he was able to in the Lopez fight.”