Promoter Eddie Hearn signed former unified lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr. signed to his Matchroom team, which could lead to a quick world title fight against IBF 140lb champion Liam Paro in 2025.
The of Kambosos 15 minutes of fame of his win over Teofimo Lopez is over, but he is a useful cog for Hearn to re-mix and match Paro to expand Matchroom’s presence in the Australian market. There is a strategy behind Hearn inking Kambosos, who has lost three of his last four fights.
Will Kambosos be difficult to match?
Interestingly, Kambosos has made millions since 2022 and is financially set for life from the money he made in his last four fights. Everything else is just gravy with his career, and of course he could make a lot of money fighting IBF light welterweight champion Liam Paro in Australia on PPV.
Hearn is expected to beat Kambosos and throw him in with Paro or Richardson Hitchins for a title shot. There’s no point babying Hearn for Kambosos because he’s 31, not popular in the UK or the States, and vulnerable to even the bottom feeders at 140.
Kambosos’s Recent Battles
– Vasily Lomachenko: TKO 11 loss
– Maxi Hughes: MD 12 wins (highly doubtful)
– Devin Haney: UD 12 loss
– Devin Haney: UD 12 loss
Lomachenko destroyed Kambosos in his last fight, stopping him in the 11th round on May 12 in Perth, Australia. The ‘Emperor’ Kambosos had never been knocked out before in his 11-year career, and it must have been difficult for him to lose in front of his fans.
Undersized at 140
It has a short contract written all over it, and I’d be surprised if Hearn signed Kambosos for more than two fights. The 140-lb division is shark-infested and dangerous for a small, light puncher with limited ability like ‘The Emperor’. The career survival rate for fighters of Kambosos Jr’s ability is limited in this weight class.
Kambosos would be a good opponent for Paro, Hitchins, Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia or Jack Catterall. After that he can be discarded as useless ballast.
Kambosos was small for the 135-lb division, but it will be much worse for him at 140, where he will face bigger, stronger fighters. It doesn’t matter, though, because he would be out of his league even if he was the same size as the talented fighters in the light-welterweight division.
“I’m looking forward to making a statement. There are so many doors that open. This is a great step,” said Kambosos Battle hype about his signing with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom.
“We always make the right business moves. We continue to fight the best, chase the biggest fights, and build on my legacy.”
At this point, Kambosos sounds more like a shrewd businessman than a fighter. He got lucky once in his career with one big win over Teofimo Lopez, but has been repeatedly exposed since 2022. He’s made a lot of money with his fights, and it must be unnerving for the more talented fighters at 135 and 140 to watch Kambosos doing well financially with his limited ability.
Although Kambosos, 31, is considered a one-hit wonder by fans following his huge upset of Teofimo Lopez, he is a character because of his confidence and his name recognition. Kambosos is one of the best braggarts in the sport, and fans love to hate him. He is a self-promoting type of person.
Kambosos will be fast tracked to the title
By signing the ‘Ferocious’, Hearn doesn’t have to do as much work promoting because Kambosos doesn’t need help generating interest in his fights. He will do all the work for Hearn, talking up his fights, creating friction and making fans laugh at him.
It probably won’t make Hearn fighter Jack Catterall happy to see Kambosos (21-3, 10 KOs) get a world title shot in front of him at light welterweight, but there’s a big difference in star power.
Kambosos is a more famous former unified world champion and has fought three of the big names, Teofimo Lopez, Devin Haney, and Vasily Lomachenko.
Welcome to the team @georgekambosos – time to attack the 140lb division! @loudibella 🇦🇺🤝 pic.twitter.com/SjN3bfOQRo
— Eddie Hearn (@EddieHearn) November 22, 2024
