Once George Kambosos Jr. took off his gloves following his second defeat to Devin Haney, he seriously contemplated whether or not he ever wanted to put them back on. (photo by Ryan Hafey)
Those consecutive losses came at the expense of his WBO, WBA, IBF, and WBC “Franchise” lightweight titles, an achievement he worked his entire life for. Did the Australian native truly want to work his way back from the ground up? That process seemed exhausting. But, after recharging his batteries and finding that spark, the 30-year-old came to the conclusion that he still had plenty left to give.
In his first fight back, Kambosos (20-2, 10 KOs) took on what many considered to be a relatively soft touch in Maxi Hughes. But while the former IBO champ was expected to come over stateside, collect a check, and leave his belt at the door, he gave Kambosos all he could handle.
Although the confident Australian picked up the win, it was of the controversial variety. Regardless of how he ultimately got it done, Kambosos now has his eyes set on bigger and better things.
The lightweight division has a long list of popular and dangerous fighters. The perfect scenario for the Aussie, however, would be an immediate showdown against Vasiliy Lomachenko. If the two are unable to hammer out a deal, Kambosos has indicated that he would love to face Gervonta Davis.
With just over half of the year remaining, Davis (29-0, 27 KOs) has scored two knockout wins. One against Hector Garcia and the other coming against Ryan Garcia. News of Kambosos placing Davis on his hitlist was somewhat surprising to Calvin Ford, Davis’ current head trainer. Although it’s unlikely that they face off, Kambosos should consider himself lucky. From Ford’s point of view, Kambosos would be absolutely annihilated at the hands of his pound-for-pound star.
“Not even two,” Ford told ESNEWS when asked how many rounds would Kambosos last against Davis. “Not even two.”