Shawn Porter feels that George Kambosos Jr. and Vasily Lomachenko have a lot to lose in their fight tonight. Both are in a position where a defeat would hurt their careers.
Porter says the former IBF/WBA/WBO/Ring lightweight champion Kambosos (21-2, 10 KOs) hasn’t shown the same explosive form since his upset victory over Teofimo Lopez in 2021.
Kambosos has looked progressively worse in his last three fights and appears to be the shell of the fighter that beat Teo. The unkindest cut of all was being outboxed by Maxi Hughes last July in Shawnee, Oklahoma.
If that performance was indicative of Kambosos’s current level, he won’t win tonight if the fight is scored fairly. Is Kambosos’ Cinderella story over? Did the Teofimo fight take something out of Kambosos?
Porter says the 36-year-old Lomachenko can’t afford to lose tonight against Kambosos without it hurting his legacy.
He was beaten by his previous opponent, Devin Haney, in a fight that fans thought he deserved to win, but Lomachenko failed to finish the fight strong by fighting hard in the 12th.
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“Lomachenko has done everything he could in the sport. I think you can get to the point where you start to diminish your legacy and what you’ve done. I don’t think Lomachenko is there yet, but I think losing to Kambosos could be the start of diminishing his legacy,” said Shawn Porter to Jai McAllister about tonight’s fight and what’s at stake between Vasily Lomachenko and George Kambosos Jr.
Porter is trying to be diplomatic in this interview, as what he’s basically saying is Lomachenko losing to a fighter at the low level of Kambosos shows that he no longer has it.
“The other side of that is Kambosos had a big explosion against Teofimo Lopez a couple of years ago, and he really hasn’t performed that way ever since. He’s fighting for his reputation. His reputation went from being one of the elite to that of not on that level,’ said Porter.
“So, I think Kambosos has to show that he’s on that level. The best out there that can be made right now is Shakur Stevenson,” said Porter on who the winner of tonight’s fight between Lomachenko and Kambosos could be fighting next.
Lomachenko probably won’t want to fight Shakur Stevenson next if he’s victorious because he’s not going to want to deal with his negative style. If Loma wins tonight, he’ll likely target Emanuel Navarrete or Gervonta Davis next.