It wasn’t so long ago that George Kambosos was the hottest name in arguably boxing’s hottest division.
The 30-year-old Australian returns to the ring at the weekend, taking on Englishman Maxi Hughes in his first bout since back-to-back unanimous decision losses at the hands of Devin Haney, the second of which came in October.
For Kambosos, the decision to fight Hughes, and more generally a southpaw, was a deliberate one.
MORE: Full breakdown of the Kambosos vs. Hughes undercard
“I like fighting southpaws,” Kambosos told Sporting News.
“I’ve had many rounds with the great Manny Pacquiao where I’ve been able to work on that southpaw work.
“I just find the rhythm and all my shots, my left hook, my right hand, my body shots, the uppercuts, the jabs, against a southpaw, just really breaks them down.
“I feel like they just jump into these shots.”
While he may relish the stylistic challenge of taking on a lefty, there is another reason the 33-year-old Yorkshireman was selected for Kambosos’ next fight.
Having been unified champion at 135-pounds, Kambosos is keen to recapture championship gold.
Haney hasn’t confirmed his next move but is tipped to jump up to super-lightweight before too long, leaving the division wide open once again.
MORE: Kambosos' next fight is no pushover: Why underdog Maxi Hughes is primed to score shocking upset win
As Kambosos sees it, he’s going to run into another southpaw sooner or later.
“There’s a reason behind it, when we looked at everybody, there are a lot of good southpaws in the division and I want to make a good statement with [Hughes] first,” Kambosos said.
“Our full focus is Maxi Hughes, that’s the guy I’m thinking about, but obviously you can’t help but see there’s big names in the division.
“A lot of big fights can become huge, you’ve got guys like [Vasiliy] Lomachenko, whose stocks are still sky high, you’ve got Shakur Stevenson, Gervonta Davis, I really, really like that fight… it’s a fight that intrigues me, but it all starts with Maxi Hughes.”
In addition to Hughes’ IBO world title going on the line when they meet in Shawnee, Oklahoma on Saturday (Sunday in Australia), the bout will also act as an IBF title eliminator.
Should Haney vacate his titles, the winner of Kambosos and Hughes is in line for a fight with undefeated Argentine Gustavo Lemos for the IBF strap, which the Sydneysider hopes is his ticket to more big fights.
Kambosos believes when he gets back to that spot, he’ll be better prepared this time, admitting he may have taken on too much in the lead-up to the Haney fights.
“Just time management. Be smarter with the way we approach our fights,” Kambosos said when asked what lessons he took from 2022.
“I’ve always been a dog in the gym and that never changed, I trained like an animal for the Haney fights but you need to be able to get in that rest and recovery, so we’ve been able to learn from that.
“The more failures you have, the better fighter you can become, the more lessons you learn and we learned a lot of lessons.”
Before he can think about how he might navigate another blockbuster, he’s got to take care of business against Hughes, himself riding a seven-fight winning streak.
While his future in the division’s elite may be at stake, Kambosos is confident he can get the job done.
“I don’t have any added pressure. The pressure’s on him,” he said.
“He’s the guy that hasn’t done much in the sport, he’s the guy that’s 33, 34, he’s the one that’s got to try and make a statement.
“I’ll just box smart and I will pick this guy apart. I’m just excited to be in there, the shot will come.”
“You’re only as good as your last fight and an emphatic win against Maxi Hughes puts me back in position.”
