On Saturday, Vasiliy Lomachenko will be fighting George Kambosos Jr. and duking it out with Father Time.
He is a heavy favorite entering the lightweight bout in Perth, Australia, with the IBF lightweight world championship at stake. But at 36, the Ukrainian star may be in decline.
It’s no ordinary 36. Lomachenko, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, started boxing at 4, logged 397 amateur fights and has a pro record of 17-3 with 11 knockouts.
“When I beat Lomachenko, there'll be no more road for him to go," Kambosos said this week. “This is retirement for him, I truly believe it.’’
But the 30-year-old Kambosos (21-2, 10 KOs) will be fighting not only Lomachenko but for championship-caliber credibility.
After handing Teofimo Lopez his first loss in 2021, Kambosos suffered back-to-back, one-sided losses to Devin Haney followed by an unimpressive majority decision victory over Maxi Hughes.
Lomachenko, by contrast, lost a controversial unanimous decision to Haney a year ago. The fight against Kambosos is his first since.
“It will be very, very interesting for both (of us),’’ Lomachenko said. “It’ll be interesting for all fans of boxing.”
The Lomachenko-Kambosos broadcast is set to begin Saturday at 10 p.m. ET.
The Lomachenko-Kambosos fight will air on ESPN.
The Lomachenko-Kambosos fight will be available to stream on ESPN+.
Lomachenko weighed in at 135 pounds for the fight. Kambosos weighed in at 134.25 pounds.
The required championship limit was 135 pounds.
Lomachenko is 17-3 with 11 knockouts. As an amateur, Lomachenko was 396-1 and won Olympic gold medals in 2008 and 2012. Kambosos is 21-2 with 11 KOs.
Lomachenko won the WBO featherweight title in his third fight, tying the record for fewest fights needed before winning a world championship. He also has won world titles in the super featherweight and lightweight divisions and five world championships overall.
Lomachenko lost his lightweight titles to Teofimo Lopez in 2020 after losing their fight by unanimous decision.
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