Shawn Porter does not believe George Kambosos Jr 21-2 (20) will be out of his depth against Vasiliy Lomachenko 17-3 (11) when the pair meet for the vacant IBF lightweight title at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia on Sunday afternoon local time.
But the retired former world champion turned pundit expects the extensive world class experience of Lomachenko 17-3 (11) in both the amateurs and the pros to prove the difference in the fight.
“If I was betting, my money is on Lomachenko by decision,” Porter said to Fox Sports Australia. “Because he is just so precise. A sharp shooter with power in both hands.
“I don’t think he gets the stoppage. I don’t see George Kambosos getting stopped in Australia. I don’t see George getting stopped at all.
“You know what’s in his blood, where he comes from and what he believes in, his mentally. But respectfully, I think this fight favours Lomachenko 60/40.”
Australia’s Kambosos, 30, shocked the world when he defeated Teofimo Lopez 20-1 (13) to become the WBA, WBO, IBF and Ring Magazine lightweight champion by split decision in November 2021, but his reign would not last for long.
He lost his hardware in a unification bout against WBC titleholder Devin Haney 31-1 (15) in his very next fight in June of the following year via unanimous decision and failed to fare any better in their immediate rematch four months later.
A fight against Maxi Hughes 26-7-2 (5) last July was supposed to get Kambosos back in the win column. It did, but the majority decision victory was not without controversy. Many fans and pundits felt the British southpaw did more than enough to win.
Asked if he thought Kambosos’ recent form was good enough to defeat 36-year-old Ukrainian southpaw Lomachenko, Porter replied: “No. In fact looking at those past three performances it would suggest the opposite.
“But he’s due. Kambosos is due a great performance.
“There aren’t too many fighters who have these lacklustre performances without being able to pull it together.”
Setting the pace of the fight will be crucial to victory for Kambosos, according to Porter.
“He has to take the fight to Lomachenko,” he said. “Lots of punches, lots of movement, force him to throw things that he didn’t know were there.
“He has got to hit Lomachenko, out punch him.
“Lomachenko is going to set up his angles and work accordingly – use that southpaw stance and use it masterfully.
“So Kambosos has to stay out of the reach of that left hand.
“And he has to be busy to win this fight.”
Porter doesn’t see Lomachenko, who had around 400 amateur fights before embarking on his successful pro career, turning old overnight.
“I don’t see that happening,” he said of the former three-division world champion. “I go with what my spirit tells me, and my spirit is telling me he isn’t.”
He added: “There are a lot of miles on Lomachenko, but he’s also very smart. Very intuitive.
“I don’t believe he would be taking on this type of challenge if he didn’t think he was going to win.”
