In a battle of former unified world champions, Vasyl Lomachenko and George Kambosos Jr are now all set to lock horns in the ring for the vacant IBF Lightweight world championship, set to take place in Australia on 12th May at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.
The bout was already reported to be in the works for the past few weeks and in the late hours of Wednesday, the official announcement was made. The news was broken out by Michael Benson of talkSPORT on X.
🥊 ANNOUNCED: Vasyl Lomachenko will face George Kambosos for the vacant IBF lightweight world title on Sunday, May 12th in Australia (May 11th USA time, early hours of May 12th UK time).
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) January 31, 2024
“Vasiliy Lomachenko is among the most electrifying fighters I’ve ever seen, a physical marvel still at the top of his game,” Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said following the announcement. “We’ve seen George Kambosos Jr. upset the odds before, and he is a warrior that cannot be underestimated. This is a fascinating clash of styles that marks the most significant boxing match ever to take place in the beautiful city of Perth. Thank you to the Western Australian Government for their support in making this historic event a reality.”
The IBF 135-pound belt was vacated by Devin Haney, the former unified champion of the division, after making his jump up to Super Lightweight, where Haney is currently the WBC champion, leaving his lightweight titles, including the IBF belt, vacant.
A former WBA (Super) and WBO champion, Lomachenko has gone 3-2 in his last five outings in the squared circle. The Ukrainian had earlier contested for the sole IBF belt against Teofimo Lopez in October 2020 when he lost via unanimous decision, and in his most recent appearance in May last year, Loma suffered another unanimous decision loss to Haney when he was undisputed at 135. In between the defeats, Lomachenko defeated Masayoshi Nakatani, Richard Commey and Jamaine Ortiz.
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From the back to back hitches against Haney in their two fight saga, Kambosos Jr bounced back with a majority decision win over Maxi Hughes in July last year and won the IBO lightweight belt. Prior to the Haney losses, the Aussie had defeated Teofimo Lopez to win the WBA, IBF and WBO belts, which he then lost against Haney. Now, “Fericous” is expected to have an advantage over Lomachenko by facing him on his home turf in Australia.
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