By Ian S Palmer
Former IBF/WBA/WBO Lightweight Champion George Kambosos Jr of Australia heads back to the ring this Saturday July 22nd to take on IBO Lightweight Champion Maxi Hughes of England. The 12-round battle can be seen live from Shawnee, Oklahoma on the ESPN platform in America while Canadian fans can catch it on TSN 2 and those in the UK and Ireland can see it on Sky Sports Action. Kambosos originally won his belts in November, 2021 when he upset Teofimo Lopez by split decision after dropping him in the first round and hitting the deck himself in the 10th. He then lost them to Devin Haney, who was the WBC champion, in his first defence in June, 2022 and dropped another unanimous decision to Haney in their rematch four months later in his last fight. Hughes upset former world champion Kid Galahad via 12-round majority decision in his last outing in September to retain his belt.
The 30-year-old Kambosos owns an impressive record of 20-2 with 10 Ko’s with both of his losses coming in his last two fights against Devin Haney. The native of Sydney turned pro back in 2013 and has 154 rounds of experience under his belt since. He stands just over 5-feet-9-inches tall with a 68-inch reach and has average power with a current knockout ratio of 45.5 per cent and has gone the distance in his last five outings. He’s also got a pretty solid chin but has been dropped before.
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 Lopez which he managed to do by being aggressive in the ring and not being afraid to let his hands go.
He turned pro at the age of 19 but other than Haney, Lopez and Lee Selby, he hasn’t faced many other legitimate contenders other than 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.
Hughes is a 33-year-old southpaw from Rossington, Yorkshire with a record of 26-5-2 with just 5 Ko’s and has boxed 23rounds since making his pro debut in 2010. Both his height and reach are unlisted so we don’t know exactly how he compares to Kambosos size-wise. What we do know though is that he possesses very little in the way of power as his current knockout ratio stands at only 15.2 per cent and he’s stopped one of his last eight opponents.
Since turning pro, Hughes has also won the British Central Area Super Featherweight Title, the WBC International Lightweight Belt and the British lightweight Championship. He won his current IBO Crown by beating Jovanni Straffon by 12-round unanimous decision in October, 2021 and defended it against Ryan Walsh by unanimous decision and Galahad by majority decision in his last fight.
Hughes’ losses have come at the hands of Scott Cardle, Martin Ward and Liam Walsh on points and he was stopped by Sam Bowen in eight rounds and Martin Ward after five rounds. The loss to Walsh was for the WBO European Lightweight Title in 2019. His two career draws came against martin Ward over 10 rounds and Ronnie Clark over four rounds.
Prediction……
Hughes is an aggressive boxer who likes to let his hands go but he has to throw punches in bunches because he lacks power. Kambosos is a bit similar, but has more power and experience when it comes to upper-level opponents. Neither boxer really possesses polished boxing skills but while Hughes is a fine domestic level boxer, Kambosos has proven that he can compete with elite-level opposition. Hughes’ style could give Kambosos a bit of trouble to begin with but i’m expecting Kambosos to eventually solve the puzzle.
