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For a (very) brief period of time, George Kambosos Jr felt like he was on top of the world. Few outside of the boxing circle had heard of Kambosos before he produced a huge upset to beat Teofimo Lopez and become unified world champion in November 2021. Fewer still could have predicted that.
In doing so, “The Emperor” was rewarded with a set of new clothes, or in this case the shiny WBA, IBF and WBO lightweight belts. Brand deals, media requests and sponsorship opportunities soon followed. It seemed like the sky was the limit.
That was until he ran into Devin Haney, who unceremoniously relieved him of those titles, before losing to him again in a rematch a few months later.
Understandably, Kambosos decided to take some time off after back-to-back defeats. Now, though, he wants to reclaim that which was once his. To that end, first he must get past Maxi Hughes, who has held the IBO lightweight title since September 2021.
The pair meet in a IBF final eliminator tonight to determine Haney’s next mandatory challenger.
Hughes is no mean mug either – indeed very few are in this stacked lightweight division – which is why Kambosos insists he has left no stone unturned in his preparation for this fight.
“I’m very excited. I’m very refreshed because I had three massive fights within 11 months,” Kambosos said.
“Big fights take a toll. But I was able to step back, refresh my body, and continue my training. I’m here right now.
“I’m very excited. I feel fantastic. And we can’t wait to handle business.
“I’ve never been the kind of fighter who says, ‘Oh, I’ve got a loss. It’s taken my confidence away.’ I lost to Devin Haney. I think the boxing world has forgotten that he’s the only guy I’ve lost to.
“I’ve got to remind them again. We have learned a lot. And we have worked on a lot.
“But the biggest thing is that I’ve become a greedy motherf***er now. I’m going to take advantage of every hole there is.
“I’m only focused on Maxi Hughes. We give him the utmost respect. He’s here.
“We know what he’s going to bring. Whatever there is to come, that will be spoken about after Saturday. But for now, there is only one man in front of me.
“I’m going to take his head off. That’s what’s going through my mind. I’m looking to absolutely destroy this man in my path.”
Hughes is confident of winning tonight’s final eliminator and ensuring his career continues on an upward curve.
The proud Yorkshireman – and Leeds Rhinos fan – is riding a seven-fight winning streak with a majority decision victory over Kid Galahad in his last outing.
“It’s been one of my dreams to fight in the US. When you turn professional, you see all the big fights in America and you want to be a part of that,” Hughes said.
“I’ve had my tough times in boxing, and I’ve shown a lot of mental strength. I’ve come through that. I’ve earned my right to be on this stage as the main event.
“The preparation has gone very well. My training team has been together for five years. After my last fight in September, I gave myself a week off and went back to the gym.
“I’m a full-time professional – that’s my job. I don’t just train for fights. I train and learn all the time.
“And then in February, we got the deal done with George. Since then, George’s face and name has been imprinted in my brain. Preparation went well and I’m very confident.”
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Kambosos vs Hughes
- Date: Saturday 22 July
- Venue: FireLake Arena in Shawnee, Oklahoma
- Fight time: Ring walks for the main event are expected around 2am (UK time)
- TV/live stream: Sky Sports Action from 1am or Sky Sports Main Event from 2am. You can stream on SkyGo or with a NOW 24-hour pass, which costs £11.99.
- Undercard highlights: A few Top Rank prospects to keep an eye on, namely Keyshawn Davis and Troy Isley
- i predicts: Kambosos to win by unanimous decision
Full card (subject to change):
- Keyshawn Davis vs Francesco Patera
- Giovani Santillan vs Erick Bone
- Jeremiah Milton vs Willie Harvey
- Troy Isley vs Antonio Todd
- Amron Sands vs Hemi Ahio
- Stephan Shaw vs Joe Goodall
Any other business
- Naoya Inoue moves up in weight to fight Stephen Fulton for his unified WBC and WBO super-bantamweight world titles in Tokyo on 25 July.
- Eddie Hearn is hoping to make Devin Haney vs Regis Prograis happen next for the WBC super-lightweight title.
- Conor Benn has been removed from the WBC welterweight rankings due to inactivity, Mauricio Sulaiman has confirmed.