Two former lightweight champions look to regain treasures lost when Vasiliy Lomachenko and George Kambosos Jr. square off for the vacant IBF title at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, on May 11.
The 12-round bout, plus undercard action, will be broadcast by ESPN+ in the U.S.
Lomachenko (17-3, 11 KOs) is a former pound-for-pound No. 1 and a three-weight world champion. In recent years, the Ukrainian lefty’s star has dimmed due to points defeats at the hands of Teofimo Lopez and Devin Haney. However, many insiders believe Loma deserved the decision against Haney and his performance was excellent.
WATCH: Lomachenko vs. Kambosos, exclusively on ESPN+
Kambosos (21-2, 10 KOs) is the former unified lightweight champ. The Australian brawler dropped and outpointed Lopez to win the IBF, WBA, WBO and Ring championships in 2021. However, in back-to-back undisputed title fights with Haney, Kambosos lost both via wide unanimous decision. He was also unconvincing against British fighter Maxi Hughes in his most recent decision win.
The Sporting News provides odds and a final prediction for this big world title bout in Australia.
Lomachenko vs. Kambosos betting odds
Per BetMGM, Lomachenko is the -650 favorite while Kambosos is the +450 underdog.
Lomachenko vs. Kambosos betting trends
- Lomachenko via KO/ TKO/ Tech. Dec/ DQ: +250
- Lomachenko via decision: -175
- Kambosos via KO/TKO/Tech. Dec/ DQ: +1200
- Kambosos via decision: +700
- Draw: +2000
Lomachenko vs. Kambosos prediction, best bets
This looks like an awful style confrontation for Kambosos.
In his most recent outing against Maxi Hughes, the Australian brawler was largely ineffectual. The ex-champ escaped with a majority decision win, but that could easily have been his third straight loss following back-to-back defeats at the hands of Devin Haney.
The reason why the Hughes performance is a worry for Team Kambosos is because they were up against a mobile lefty with quick hands and quick feet. That is exactly what Lomachenko is, but the Ukrainian wizard is on a completely different level and carries a multitude of added extras.
You get the best out of Kambosos if you engage him in a firefight. While his world title-winning performance was awe-inspiring, Teofimo Lopez made so many mistakes against him. Underestimated, Kambosos brought “The Takeover” back down to earth with a smart and aggressive display.
But against boxers with a reliance on being defensive, Kambosos hasn’t been anywhere near as successful. Naturally smaller fighters Mickey Bey and Lee Selby pushed him before dropping close split decisions, Haney had a field day across 24 rounds, and Hughes suffered a controversial points loss.
Unless Loma has fallen off a cliff as a fighter, the smart money says he wins this fight by wide unanimous decision. That’s the official pick because Kambosos is a blood and guts warrior and he’ll be hard to shift. However, you couldn’t be blamed for taking the +250 odds on a late-round stoppage for the visitor.