Via Robert Segal: George Kambosos Jr (20-2, 10 KOs) insists “this is not the end” of his career after his defeat to undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney (29-0, 15 KOs) ) last Saturday night in Melbourne, Australia.
Kambosos lacks points on the scoreboard, losing by this set of scores: 119-109, 118-110 and 118-110.
Kambosos’ relegation to 130th place might be a good idea as there will be a chance for him to win a belt in that division when Shakur Stevenson is moving up to 135th.
Kambosos is small for light, and he would be perfect for ultralight. True, the payoffs will likely be smaller at 130, but Kambosos could make a lot of money off of pay-per-view in Australia if he chooses a different belt.
It doesn’t matter what weight class the Kambosos won the title in. He will have his Australian fans eager to watch him fight no matter what weight class he is competing in.
Kambosos has always been confident he will win the world again, perhaps after Haney skipped his four belts at 135 and soon climbed to 140. George felt that 23-year-old Haney didn’t have much time left. for light exercise because of his size.
Once Haney vacated his titles, the belts would fragment and the Kambosos could pursue one of them, assuming he had ranked high enough when that time came.
Kambosos talks about wanting to take a break from boxing after last night’s loss to Haney, but he can’t take a long break if he wants to rank high with one of the four sanctioned bodies.
Currently, Kambosos is rated #3 WBC, #5 IBF, #5 WBO and #6 WBA. That ranking is clearly set to drop with Kambosos’ decisive round 12 loss to Haney last Saturday night at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.
What Kambosos needs to do is get back into the gym soon and find a way to win against Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz, William Zepeda or Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero. Kambosos must move quickly because Shakur Stevenson, a 135-year-old novice, will be behind the early fragmented belts. The last thing Kambosos needed was to get to know Stevenson, who was supposed to be a better version of Haney.
“I don’t know how much time he has left at 135. He’s big, he’s nimble, he’s a good fighter,” Kambosos Jr said at press conference after the battle last Saturday night after he lost to Haney.
“I think he can turn 140,” Kambosos is about Haney. “God willing, that opened some doors for us. I am a big name. I showed that warrior spirit. You lost a war, but you came back. I will win again. It’s not over yet. There were some big fights happening to me.
“I gave my all. I had a great camp, no excuses. We could have easily fought and exhausted our strength a bit, but we took a risk. I believe that with my speed, and my counter-punching, smart aggressiveness, anyone at 135 years old, I can compete and give them a hell of a fight.
“I think I need a break,” Kambosos said when asked if he thought he could conquer the world again. “I had three big fights in a year. I had Teofimo Lopez in a fight, and obviously me, and Haney in the first fight, it wasn’t a fight, and this fight, another fight,” Kambosos said.
