Vasiliy Lomachenko is still one of the best lightweights in the world, and George Kambosos Jr. had a rough couple of days.
On early Sunday afternoon in Perth, Australia, Lomachenko put on a masterful performance as he outclassed Kambosos for 10.5 rounds before a pair of body shots forced an end to the bout.
The win earned Lomachenko the IBF lightweight title and a return to championship status after ups and downs over the past four years. Here is a look at the finish:
Kambosos’ right eye had become bloodied by Lomachenko’s seemingly omin-present left hand. However, it was the body work late that led to the stoppage. Even more than the left hand or the punches to the body, Lomachenko showed his superiority in footwork and spatial awareness.
The 36-year-old proved to be a much better judge of distance and a vastly superior technical boxer. Per scorecards posted by boxing journalist Dan Rafael, Lomachenko was up by a wide margin when the fight was stopped.
According to CompuBox numbers provided to me, Kambosos never landed more than eight punches in a round, and in 2 frames, he could connect with Lomachenko just once.
Lomachenko’s superiority was evident as he outlanded Kambosos by a staggering 175-40. Let’s look at the fight community’s reactions to Lomachenko’s resounding win after the stoppage.
Gervonta Davis, the WBA lightweight champion who will defend his title against Frank Martin on June 15, called out Lomachenko from X during the fight. He later deleted the tweet and several inflammatory posts about ESPN’s Timothy Bradley.
I captured this image of the tweet before Davis deleted it.
Loma was asked about the callout during his post-fight press conference and didn’t decline. He said he wanted to rest after capturing the IBF title.
The 135-pound champions are Davis (WBA), Lomachenko (IBF), Shakur Stevenson (WBC), and the winner of the upcoming Emmanuel Navarette-Denys Berinchyk on May 18.
There are some potentially exciting fights at 135 pounds, and it’ll be interesting to see if any of the champions attempt to unify the titles.
As for Kambosos, he hasn’t looked good in the ring since he pulled an upset win over Teofimo Lopez in November 2021. Since then, Kambosos is 1-3 with a less-than-impressive win over Maxi Hughes in 2023.
To make things worse, Kambosos was just ordered to pay former manager Peter Kahn $350,000 in lost wages, and a similar judgment could be on the way for his former trainer Javiel Centeno.
If Kambosos is going to rebound, he will need to regroup in multiple areas before climbing back into the ring.
