George Kambosos Jr. looked emaciated at the weigh-in on Friday for his 12-round headliner battle against Vasily Lomachenko for Saturday’s fight live on ESPN at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m
The two fighters had a long face-off after weighing in, and you could tell that Kambosos was having kittens with worry. He looked stressed. Kambosos looked like he was about to have a panic attack.
Kambosos: The Turkey Neck Tells All
Going by appearances, Kambosos (21-2, 10 KOs) could be in trouble if the 36-year-old Lomachenko (17-3, 11 KOs) doesn’t grow old in the last year that he’s been out of the ring.
Former unified lightweight champion Kambosos and former three-division world champ Lomachenko will fight for the vacant IBF 135-lb title on Saturday. The event will be shown live on ESPN, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN+ at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT.
- George Kambosos Jr. 134.2 vs. Vasily Lomachenko: 134.9
- Nina Hughes 117.5 vs. Cherneka Johnson 116.7
- Andrew Moloney 114.5 vs. Pedro Guevara 114.9
The turkey neck that Kambosos had tonight shows that he took a lot of weight off to get down to 135, and he may feel the effects on Saturday night. Kambosos looked like he starved himself to make weight, and that ain’t good going against an elite-level pro like Lomachenko.
Lomachenko: The Ageless Wonder
On social media, many people are picking Kambosos to win. It’s unclear if they watched Kambosos’ last three fights because if they did, they’d view it as a slam dunk for Lomachenko to have his hand raised. In his three fights, Kambosos twice lost to Devin Haney and beat Maxi Hughes by a controversial 12-round decision.
If Kambosos is hoping that Lomamchenko has gotten old, he could be in for a rude awakening on Saturday night.
“Fighters grow old overnight and we’re not who we used to be in an instant. Hopefully, Kambosos recognizes that and can take advantage of it,” said Shawn Porter to Top Rank Boxing, talking about Vasily Lomachenko at the weigh-in after he arrived a little late.
“We’ve seen him slow down, we’ve seen him not have that quick start. We’ve seen even his feet. That’s one thing he’s known for, his movement,” said Porter about Lomachenko. “It’s almost like he’s revving up his engine before he gets going.
“We’ve seen that before. It’s up to Kambosos not to allow him to get started. That’s what you can’t allow with a veteran fighter. You can’t allow that veteran fighter to establish his pace and move at his tempo because usually if he does, he’s comfortable and you got to make Lomachenko feel uncomfortable.
“Kambosos can beat Lomachenko, and it doesn’t matter his age. Lomachenko doesn’t have an off night. Kambosos still has everything that it takes to beat a fighter like Lomachenko.
“We know that Loma in his prime, it’s two different levels. We get that. But here right now, it’s all about timing,” said Porter, believing that Kambosos is catching Lomachenko at the right time in his career after he’s aged enough for him to win.
(ESPN, ESPN Deportes & ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT)
• Vasiliy Lomachenko 134.9 lbs. vs. George Kambosos Jr. 134.2 lbs
(Vacant IBF Lightweight World Title – 12 Rounds)
Referee: Katsuhiko Nakamura
Judges: Steve Gray, Michiaki Someya, and Benoit Roussel
• Nina Hughes 117.5 lbs vs. Cherneka Johnson 116.7 lbs
(Hughes’ WBA Bantamweight World Title — 10 Rounds)
• Andrew Moloney 114.5 lbs vs. Pedro Guevara 114.9 lbs
(Vacant WBC Interim Junior Bantamweight World Title — 12 Rounds)
