Vasly Lomachenko vs Jr George Kambosos Prediction: Left Jabs versus home crowd support system

Vasyl Lomachenko, one of the greats of modern boxing, will fight George Kambosos for the vacant IBF lightweight world title on May 12 live on Sky Sports. Vasiliy Lomachenko and George Kambosos Jr. will square off at the RAC Arena in the latter’s home country of Australia. Kambosos Jr. will enjoy support from the home crowd in Perth.

Vasly Lomachenko has an impressive professional record of 17 wins and 3 losses, with 11 of his wins being knockout victories. Lomachenko had his professional debut on October 12th, 2013, against Jose Ramirez, whom he won by knockout in Round 4. His next fight after that was a loss against Orlando Salido through a split decision in the vacant WBO World Featherweight Title in San Antonio, Texas. After that, he kept 13 winning streaks and 9 through knockouts. In his 13-win streak between 2014 and 2019, he won against Gary Russell Jr., Suriya Tatakhun, Gamalier Rodriguez, Romulo Koasicha, Roman Martinez, Nicholas Walters, Jason Sosa, Miguel Marriaga, Guillermo Rigondeaux, Jorge Linares, Jose Pedraza, Anthony Crolla, and Luke Campbell, all in the vacant WBO World Featherweight Titles, WBO Lightweight Titles, Super Featherweight Titles, and the Intercontinental Lightweight Titles. His only fight in 2020 was a loss against Teofimo Lopez through a unanimous decision in the IBF World, WBO World, WBA World, and Ring Magazine Lightweight Title. He kept a three-game winning streak with all three games in 2021 and 2022 against Masayoshi Nakatani, Richard Commey, and Jamaine Ortiz, all in the lightweight division. His last game was a loss against Devin Haney through a unanimous decision in the undisputed lightweight title. Lomachenko, the 36-year-old boxing wizard from Ukraine, hasn’t held a major world title since he lost his 135-pound belt to Teofimo Lopez in 2020, yet he is still considered one of the best boxers in the world.

George Kambosos Jr. has a professional record of 21 wins and 2 losses. Out of his 21 wins, 10 were knockout wins. He fought and won his first professional boxing bout on May 18, 2013, against Jayson Mac Gura through a knockout in the Welterweight division. He fought two more games in 2013, when he won against Roberto Oyan (UD) and Michael Correa (TKO). From his first fight until 2021, he kept a 20-straight winning streak in the welterweight and lightweight divisions. In this streak, he won over top fighters, including Robert Tooney, Rodynie Rafol, Leonardo Esteban Gonzalez, Issa Nampepeche, Krai Settaphon, JR Magboo, Rey Perez, Mickey Bey, Ley Selby, and Teofimo Lopez, among others. Devin Haney broke George Kambosos’ winning streak with two consecutive wins in Melbourne, both through unanimous decisions in the lightweight division. Kambosos’ first and only fight in 2023 was a majority decision win against Maxi Hughes in the lightweight division.

36-year-old Vasiliy Lomachenko has had a sterling boxing career but most recently lost the WBA (Super), WBC, IBF, WBO, and The Ring lightweight titles to Devin Haney at the MGM Grand Arena in Nevada in May 20/23. George Kambosos Jr. is putting his IBO title on the line in Perth, having recovered from back-to-back defeats to the Haney above by winning that belt against Maxi Hughes in July 2023. There is an expectation that Lomachenko comfortably wins this fight, as has been confidently predicted by Jorge Linares and Paulie Malignaggi, who said that Kambosos ‘barely’ wins a round. Lomachenko has aged and comes into this on the back of a defeat, but he remains a superior fighter and should win here, albeit it would be expected to go the distance. My prediction is that Lomachenko wins, but not by knockout.