Former WBA, WBO and IBF lightweight champion George ‘Ferocious’ Kambosos Jr 20-2 (10) will be looking to get his first victory in 20 months when he takes on Maxi Hughes 26-5-2 (5) in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 29.
The 29-year-old Australian is coming off back-to-back points losses to Devin ‘The Dream’ Haney 29-0 (15) that took place in his homeland last year.
The Sydneysider worked his way into a mandatory title shot against Teofimo Lopez 18-1 (13) in November 2021. He was given little chance of success with the then-undefeated Lopez coming off a shock win over Vasiliy Lomachencko 17-2 (11).
But just like Lopez scored a surprise victory over the Ukrainian southpaw, Kambosos did the same thing to the Brooklynite.
The Ring magazine ranks Kambosos at number seven in their lightweight rankings. England’s Hughes, 33, is rated by the same publication at number nine.
“I will stop him,” Kambosos told News Corp.
“I’m not just going to beat him, I will knock him out or seriously put a beating on this guy.
“He is a crafty veteran, so I won’t take him lightly.
“It’s a huge opportunity for him, too, so I know how he will look at it, but I’m considering victory and nothing else.
“I’m not even worried about another loss. I am levels above Maxi Hughes. There is nothing he can do that I didn’t see against Devin Haney, let alone the 22 fights I’ve had in my career.
“I will win the fight and Ferocious will be back.”
Hughes is coming off a majority decision victory over Kid Galahad 28-3 (17) last September to run his win streak up to seven.
“When I win this fight, I’m back in line for the IBF world title,” said Kambosos.
“I’m a big-name fighter and I still deserve the biggest fighters.”
The news of the Kambosos-Hughes fight comes days after Youssef Dib 19-0 (9) said he would be willing to jump in the ring with the former unified champion.
“I don’t really know where George goes after those two losses to Haney,” Dib said to Fox Sports Australia.
“I know there’s talk of a Hughes fight, although I don’t know if it’s signed, sealed and delivered just yet.
“So if he is looking for somebody in Australia then I’m more than happy to put my hand up.
“While I won’t be that guy who trash talks (to get the fight), I think he knows he would be in for a real fight against me.”
Dib and Kambosos share history. They fought each other in the amateurs.
“First time I fought Kambosos I was only seven fights into my amateur career,” Dib said.
“He had a lot of experience but I made that fight a lot closer than it should have been considering where we were both at.
“He only beat me 12-10 on the old amateur scoring system.
“It was actually 10 each with 30 seconds to go.
“So that’s a rematch I’ve always wanted.
“Even back in 2016 I called George out because he was hunting my brother. I said ‘if you’re chasing Billy come look for me first’.
“So now after beating Kye (MacKenzie), I’m hoping to get a platform on one of the big Australian shows.
“I’m 30… so it’s time to press the go button and showcase my abilities to the world.”
