The future of George Kambosos Jr is up in the air after the Australian suffered a technical knockout loss to Ukrainian Vasiliy Lomachenko in their IBF lightweight world title showdown in Perth.
Lomachenko controlled Sunday’s bout in front of 14,147 fans from start to finish, with the fight brought to a halt with 21 seconds remaining in the 11th round after Kambosos suffered a battering in the corner.
Kambosos had hit the deck seconds earlier following a powerful hook to the body.
When the referee resumed the bout, Lomachenko finished the job with a flurry of punches.
Kambosos shot to international fame in 2021 when he won the IBF, WBA and WBO lightweight belts by stunning Teofimo Lopez at Madison Square Garden.
But back-to-back losses to Devin Haney — combined with last year’s unconvincing and controversial win over Maxi Hughes — meant Sunday’s fight against Lomachenko was make or break.
The devastating nature of the defeat raises questions about what the future holds for the 30-year-old Kambosos.
“This guy is one of the best of all time,” Kambosos said after the bout.
“We tried our best, but he’s a good champion. He deserves that belt. I gave it my all.
“I’m still alive, I’m still standing. I ain’t dead.”
There was plenty of theatre in the lead-up to the fight, with the pair engaging in a three-minute staredown on Thursday and a lengthy reprise at Saturday’s weigh-in.
After a cagey start to the bout, Lomachenko landed a few crucial head blows after trapping Kambosos in the corner.
Lomachenko landed some more key punches late in the second round, as Kambosos replied with a flurry of punches that failed to land.
Kambosos received several more lusty blows in the third, but he at least got some back late in the round.
The fourth round was particularly brutal for Kambosos as he wore a series of powerful jabs and left hooks from Lomachenko.
Kambosos momentarily rattled Lomachenko in the sixth with a strong jab, but it was a fleeting moment in a bout the Ukrainian was controlling.
Lomachenko’s powerful left hook left Kambosos with blood streaming from near his right eye in the eighth round. As the onslaught continued, the Australian was left a bloodied mess by the end of the ninth.
Whether Kambosos could see out the fight was the main question from that point on, and Lomachenko gave an emphatic answer in a brutal 11th round.
Moloney retires after controversial title bout defeat
Australian Andrew Moloney has announced his shock retirement after suffering a controversial loss to Mexico’s Pedro Guevara in their WBC interim junior bantamweight world title bout in Perth.
And in another huge controversy on Sunday’s card, England’s Nina Hughes was awarded victory in her women’s WBA bantamweight battle against Australian Cherneka Johnson — only for the result to be flipped a minute later when organisers realised they had read out the scores in the wrong order.
Moloney landed far more shots to the head in his 12-round bout and celebrated after the final bell.
But the 33-year-old was left in shock when the judges scored the bout 115-113, 115 -113, 113-116 in a split decision to Guevara that shocked the Moloney camp.
“I felt in total control. I did what I had to do in there tonight to get the win,” Moloney said.
“I don’t want to make excuses, but I went into this fight with a torn biceps, so I couldn’t throw the left hook unless I needed to.
“I didn’t feel like I needed to throw it because I was in total control.
“And, look, I just want to say thank you to Top Rank, thank you to my team for everything you’ve done for me.
“I want to thank my sponsors for backing me over the years because I’m retired. I’m out. I love you all, but sorry, f*** that.”
Moloney entered the bout desperate to get one back for Team Moloney, following his twin brother Jason’s defeat to Japan’s Yoshiki Takei in their WBO bantamweight title clash earlier in the week.
He started strongly, landing a series of early heavy blows.
Guevara did well to attack Moloney’s body throughout the bout, but Moloney seemed to land the more telling blows to the head.
But it was not enough to convince two of the three judges, with Moloney glaring at the judges afterwards to express his shock.
Guevara said he would give Moloney a rematch if he wanted it.
“I’d have no problem giving him a rematch,” Guevara said.
Wrong boxer announced as winner in undercard fight
There was more controversy in the women’s title bout between Hughes and Johnson.
Hughes was originally awarded the win by majority decision, 95-95, 96-94, 98-92.
But, while she was celebrating, both boxers were called back to the middle and told it was actually Johnson who had won, not Hughes.
“This is a joke,” Hughes said.
“I thought I dominated it.”
Promoter Lou DiBella stepped in afterwards to apologise for the mix-up, saying they “screwed up”.
Johnson, who won the IBF super-bantamweight title in 2022 but lost the belt to Ellie Scotney last year, was over the moon to be awarded the win after the mix-up.
“I’m just glad they figured out the wrong decision,” Johnson said.
The undercard’s heavyweight non-title bout will pit former WBA world champion Lucas Browne (31-5, 27KOs) against Kiwi Hemi Ahio (21-1, 16KOs).
AAP
Sports content to make you think… or allow you not to. A newsletter delivered each Saturday.
Posted , updated