Paulie Malignaggi has urged George Kambosos Jr. to retire following his fight with Vasiliy Lomachenko.
The pair have agreed to fight on May 12, 2024, for the vacant IBF Lightweight Title. Both fighters are coming into the fight with different perspectives. Lomachenko lost to Devin Haney in his last about via a unanimous decision. The defeat meant that he lost out on becoming the Undisputed Lightweight Champion.
Although that may have been the case, most of the boxing community felt he had done enough to secure a win. But the Ukrainian never got to avenge that loss, as Haney moved up to 140 pounds. That means the belts became vacant, depriving Lomachenko of the chance to right that wrong.
As for Kambosos, he enters the fight with a win over Maxi Hughes in his last bout via a majority decision. The decision was equally controversial, with many feeling that Hughes had been robbed of a win. But given Kambosos’ decline, Malignaggi felt it was time for the Australian to walk away from the sport following this fight.
Malignaggi On Kambosos
“I think he probably barely wins a round or doesn’t win a round in this fight either. I feel like he should retire after this fight. He’s been able to set himself up financially in these fights. Credit to him for being able to maximize a win so well like he was able to in the Lopez fight,” Malignaggi said
Despite this being the case, it is essential to remember the following points. There is no guarantee that Lomachenko is the same fighter since the Haney loss. After the defeat, he took a year out, turning down the chance to face Shakur Stevenson for the vacant WBC Lightweight title. As such, there are still question marks over whether or not Lomachenko is still a danger.
Kambosos’ Belief
The Ukrainian is 35 years old and has had nearly 400 amateur fights, showing he is not getting any younger. One thing that Kambosos has shown is that he is ready for a challenge. No one gave him the chance of winning when he faced Teofimo Lopez. But the Australian managed to drop Lopez and recover from his knockdown to win a split decision. In doing so, he became the Unified Lightweight Champion. Based on his reaction after the Lopez fight, Kambosos can do it again.
“I believed in myself, I backed myself. I thought, ‘I’m going to hit him hard and put him down,’ and the fight changed off that. … I’m an unbelievable boxer. I can’t believe how good I boxed. It wasn’t a big knockdown,” said Kambosos, who entered the bout rated No. 9 by ESPN at 135 pounds. I wanted to feel the power. [I thought], ‘I’m going to punish him for what he just done to me,” Kambosos stated
More must-reads: