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This Saturday, live on ESPN/ESPN+, Vasiliy Lomachenko will return to the ring against former undisputed lightweight champion George Kambosos. This fight will take place in George's backyard in Australia. Lomachenko was last seen almost a year ago when he lost to Devin Haney via unanimous decision. Kambosos put up a tough fight in his last fight and also scored a majority decision win over Maxie Hughes. While this match is definitely not a win or go home scenario, it does have a lot riding on it for the winner.
If Lomachenko raises his hand on Saturday, his promoter Bob Arum has suggested he will finally face Shakur Stevenson and Vasiliy later this year. Of course, this will mean two things. First, both Loma and Shakur, who fight in July, win their fights. Second, Stevenson, who will become a free agent, will leave Top Rank. Shakur says he will test the market and make the best decision for his future. He has expressed interest in fighting Gervonta Davis, but is unsure about signing with Premier Boxing Champions. Enough of this talk, let's not put the cart before the horse.
Lomachenko is no longer in his prime, considering he is 36 years old and has nearly 400 amateur fights. However, at this stage he is far from a shot-boxer. The only thing he deserves fair criticism for is his slow start in fights with Teofimo Lopez and Devin Haney. Giving out the first part of these fights by allegedly downloading information is ridiculous, no matter what the Loma super-fanboys say. But to be honest, it was just those two fights. In fact, aside from the on-the-job training he received from Orlando Salido, he spent the vast majority of his fights on cruise control.
That doesn't mean he wasn't tossed around by Jorge Linares or that Jamain Ortiz didn't have his moments. George Kamabosos, on the other hand, has had to work hard in seemingly every round he has won in his last 6 matches. When the Australian faced Lee Selby and Mickey Bey, he had to work hard to win, which is why the result of his victory over Teofimo Lopez was so shocking. Now, of course, we could say that Lopez fought very ignorantly and clearly did not respect the level of his opponent. However, it was Camabosos' timing and counterpunching that continued to catch Lopez recklessly charging forward.
Devin Haney controlled the pace and won both fights in 2022 by a majority over George. Haney used his jab, length, distance and speed to dominate the rounds. Now George enters the fight with Loma again as a significant underdog. This boxing podcaster believes betting odds should be even higher, something above +500. Unless Lomachenko ages overnight, as many said happened to Canelo last week, this boxing junkie just doesn't understand how George wins.
This is no disrespect to Camabosos, he is a very good fighter and I for one will never look back on what he did to Lopez. Now some will say that Lomachenko is an aggressive fighter and George will counter him on his way to the goal. There's a big difference between smart aggression and throwing caution to the wind. Loma doesn't come into the fight looking for a stop like Teofimo did that night. Lomachenko uses angles to execute fast and precise combinations. At the same time, the Crowbar moves out of striking range, or at least out of striking range, preventing the boxer from comboing, if that makes sense.
The path to victory for George is to hurt Basil early and/or the hometown cookout that can happen in Australia. And to be fair to the boxing commission, the judges were pretty fair in both fights with visiting Devin Haney. With such a narrow path to victory and a difficult style clash, there's no way I could be upset. The key question is, can George force Lomachenko out of autopilot/cruise control? As a boxing fan, disappointments make me a humble predictor and fuel my passion for the sport. Kambosos will have his mini-surges in the rounds and will win rounds that won't be enough to get close to the cards.
My official prediction is Vasily Lomachenko via unanimous decision.
LINK TO PODCAST: The Rope A Dope Radio Podcast: Results of the Canelo vs. Munguia fight! Who is next? Inoue knocks out Neri! Ryan Garcia looks dirty! on Apple Podcasts or http://tobtr.com/12337629
Note: Keep an eye on the closest odds match this weekend, Andrew Moloney vs. Pedro Guevara.
Written by Chris Carlson Host/Producer of The Rope A Dope Radio Podcast. Available at www.blogtalkradio.com/ropeadoperadio. Follow on Twitter @RopeADopeRadio.
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