George Kambosos Jr vs Vasyl Lomachenko Preview May 11th, 2024
Former IBF/WBA/WBO Lightweight Champion George Kambosos Jr of Australia heads back to the ring this Saturday May 11th against former three-division world champion Vasyl Lomachenko of Ukraine. The 12-rounder from Perth, Australia is for Kambosos’ IBO Lightweight Belt and the vacant IBF Crown is also up for grabs. The fight can be seen live in America on the ESPN platform while fans in the UK can catch it on Sky Sports Action. Kambosos last fought in July when he beat Maxi Hughes by a controversial 12-round majority decision for the IBO title. Lomachenko was also involved in a controversial 12-rounder the last time out when he dropped a decision to Devin Haney in May for the Undisputed Lightweight title.
Kambosos Jr vs Lomachenko Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- George Kambosos Jr +450
- Vasyl Lomachenko -700
My Pick
The 30-year-old Kambosos owns an impressive record of 21-2 with 10 Ko’s with both of his losses coming in his last three contests against Devin Haney. The native of Sydney turned pro back in 2013 and has 166 rounds of experience under his belt since. He stands 5-feet-9-inches tall with a 68-inch reach and has average power as 47.6 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage and he has gone the distance in his last six outings. He’s also got a pretty solid chin but has been dropped before but never stopped.
Kambosos reportedly won 85 of his 100 amateur bouts and since turning pro has also won the IBF Pan Pacific Lightweight Title along with the Australian NSW, Australian, WBA-PABA, and WBA Oceania Lightweight Belts. Of course, his career highlight though was beating Teofimo Lopez by split decision in 2021 to capture the IBF/WBA and WBO Belts which he managed to do by being aggressive in the ring and not being afraid to let his hands go. He then lost those belts in his next fight when he lost to Haney the first time.
Kambosos turned pro at the age of 19 but other than Haney, Lopez and Lee Selby, he hasn’t really faced many other legitimate contenders other than perhaps Mickey Bey. He’s also beaten the likes of Brandon Ogilvie, Qamil Balla, Krai Setthaphon, Jose Forero, Rey Perez and Richard Pena. In fact, arguably, the best opponent he’s shared the ring with could very well be Manny Pacquiao when sparring with the former world champion.
The 36-year-old southpaw Lomachenko, known as ‘Hi Tech,’ previously held the IBF, WBA and WBO Lightweight and WBO Super Featherweight and Featherweight titles earlier in his career and now fights out of Oxnard, California. He lost his lightweight belts via a controversial unanimous decision to Teofimo Lopez in October, 2020 and is now attempting to regain some hardware at 135 lbs. He owns a pro record of 17-3 with 11 Ko’s and before losing to Lopez was generally considered by many to be the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world.
Lomachenko’s first loss came at the hands of Orlando Salido by controversial split decision in March, 2014 in his second pro fight. He turned pro in 2013 after winning two Olympic gold medals for his homeland in 2008 and 2012. Lomachenko obviously enjoyed an excellent and extensive amateur career and then won the WBO Featherweight crown against Gary Russell Jr. via majority decision in June, 2014. He defended it against Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo, Gamalier Rodriguez, and Romulo Koasicha before moving up in weight.
He beat Roman Martinez by fifth-round KO in June, 2016 for the Super Featherweight Title and defended it against Nicholas Walters, Jason Sosa, Miguel Marriaga and Guillermo Rigondeaux. He beat Jorge Linares for the WBA Super World Lightweight Crown by 10th-round stoppage in May, 2018 and defended it while adding the WBO Lightweight Title by unanimous decision over Jose Pedraza in December, 2018. The vacant WBC Lightweight Title was added in 2019 with a unanimous decision over a game Luke Campbell.
Lomachenko possesses fantastic footwork, speed, and accuracy with good power and overall ring generalship which often leaves his opponents quite frustrated. The former champ has a good chin, but Linares did drop him in the sixth round. In general, Lomachenko tends to break his opponents down with solid combinations and body and head shots. He stands 5-feet-7-inches tall and has a wingspan of 65.5 inches, so gives up two inches in height and 2.5-inches in reach to Haney. He’s fought 188 rounds since turning pro and has good power as 64.7 per cent of his wins have been by stoppage, but he’s gone the distance in five of his last six fights.
Prediction…
Lomachenko possesses excellent boxing skills and IQ’s while Kambosos is more of a blue-collar fighter. Lomachenko will need to get in and out and land his shots without getting tagged as he’s slightly smaller. He made a huge mistake when he lost his titles to Lopez as he gave away the first half of the fight and will need to start throwing punches from the opening bell this time around as Kambosos will be letting his hands go. Lomachenko is too slick for Kambosos though and even though he’s 36 years old, should be able to outbox him.
Lomachenko’s too skilled for Kambosos.
Play Lomachenko -700 @ BetOnline.ag
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George Kambosos Jr. betting • Vasyl Lomachenko betting