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George Kambosos Jr.
Born	(1993-06-14) 14 June 1993 (age 31) Sydney, Australia
Other names	Ferocious The Emperor
Statistics
Weight(s)	Lightweight
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Reach	173 cm (68 in)
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	24
Wins	21
Wins by KO	10
Losses	3
Medal record Men's amateur boxing Arafura Games 2011 Darwin Lightweight Australian National Championships 2009 Canberra Featherweight 2011 Melbourne Lightweight 2012 Hobart Lightweight

George Kambosos Jr (born 14 June 1993) is an Australian professional boxer. He held the unified lightweight championship from 2021 to 2022, as well as the Ring magazine title during that time.

Early life

Kambosos was born in Sydney to parents of Greek descent. His paternal grandparents moved from Sparta, Laconia, to Australia and Kambosos has the famous Spartan war cry "Never retreat, never surrender" tattooed on his body in homage to his heritage. He began playing junior rugby league for the Gymea Gorillas at a young age, and was often bullied as a child for being overweight, so his father enrolled him in boxing classes at 11 years of age to improve his fitness. Kambosos quickly dropped the excess weight and was placed in the Cronulla Sharks development squad where he was coached by Ricky Stuart but found himself at a crossroad as a teenager when he was forced to choose between boxing and rugby league. He elected to pursue the boxing pathway and began his fighting career by amassing 85 wins in 100 amateur fights before turning professional. Kambosos attended Bexley Public School in the southern suburbs of Sydney throughout his upbringing.

Professional career

Early career

Kambosos made his professional boxing debut in May 2013, aged 19, when he faced Filipino fighter Jayson Mac Gura and was victorious via a second-round technical knockout. In December 2016, he captured the WBA Oceania title by beating world number nine Brandon Ogilvie. He then went on to face Qamil Balla in May 2017, whom he defeated by unanimous decision in a ten-round fight. Five months later, he knocked out Krai Setthaphon in the ninth round and won the WBA Oceania and IBF Pan Pacific titles in the lightweight division.

Pacquiao's sparring partner

In June 2017, Kambosos was tabbed by Manny Pacquiao as his main sparring partner in preparation for the fight with Jeff Horn and has remained Pacquiao's main sparring partner for his fights after Horn as well. In April 2018, Kambosos signed a promotional contract with DiBella Entertainment.

In May 2018, he made his debut in the US and knocked out Jose Forero in just 1 minute and 48 seconds. On 19 January 2019, Kambosos defeated Rey Perez at The MGM Grand in Las Vegas on the undercard of Manny Pacquiao vs Adrien Broner via unanimous decision in his second fight on US soil. On 7 June in Athens, Kambosos returned to his native land of Greece and knocked out Venezuelan 11–2 (9 KOs) Richard Pena in round six in front of the packed out Galatsi Olympic Hall. He called out former two division world champion José Pedraza after his victory.

Rise up the ranks

Kambosos vs Bey

On 14 December 2019, Kambosos faced his toughest opponent yet, former IBF lightweight champion Mickey Bey. He won the bout by split decision on the undercard of Terence Crawford vs Egidijus Kavaliauskas. Scorecards read 97–92, 96–93 and 94–95 in favour of Kambosos.

Kambosos vs Selby

On 31 October 2020, Kambosos defeated former IBF featherweight champion Lee Selby by split decision at The SSE Arena in London. Selby was ranked #1 by the WBO, #4 by the IBF and #12 by the WBC at the time. The win over Selby made Kambosos the mandatory challenger for the IBF lightweight title.

Unified lightweight champion

Kambosos vs López

On 9 January 2021, the IBF ordered undefeated unified lightweight champion Teófimo López to defend his titles against Kambosos, their number one contender and mandatory challenger. The fight was initially set for 5 June 2021 at the LoanDepot Park in Miami, Florida, before being postponed multiple times, due to complications involving López contracting COVID-19, and disputes over the venue of the fight. The fight had gone to purse bids which was won by Triller with a winning bid of over US$6 million. However, on 6 October, it transpired that the IBF had found Triller in default of its contract obligation to stage the fight, and that its rights would be awarded to the second highest bidder, Eddie Hearn's Matchroom, and the fight was shown live exclusively on the streaming service DAZN. Both fighters each traded a knock down but ultimately Kambosos won the bout via split decision to become the new unified lightweight world champion. One judge had it 114–113 for López, while the other two judges scored the bout 115–112 and 115–111 in favour of Kambosos.

Kambosos vs Haney

On 5 June 2022, Kambosos Jr. and Devin Haney clashed at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia to determine the 1st undisputed lightweight champion of the four-belt era. The fight did not proceed without controversy, as Kambosos was unable to make weight on his first attempt. He initially weighed in at 135.36 lbs, 0.36 lbs over the 135 lb limit for the lightweight division. On his second attempt an hour later, within the two-hour limit, Kambosos weighed in at 134.49 lbs. The fight then proceeded as planned and Kambosos was defeated by Haney after a unanimous decision, with two judges scoring the fight 116–112 and one judge scoring it 118–110, all in favor of Haney. The deal for the fight included an automatic rematch clause which Kambosos exercised. The rematch occurred on October 16, 2022, in Australia.

Kambosos vs Haney II

George Kambosos and Devin Haney met in their rematch at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia on October 16, 2022. Kambosos lost the fight via unanimous decision with the scores of 118–110 (twice) and 119–109, in favor of Haney.

Lomachenko vs. Kambosos

On May 12, 2024, in Perth, Western Australia, Kambosos fought Vasiliy Lomachenko for the vacant IBF lightweight title. Lomachenko defeated Kambosos by TKO in the 11th round by bodyshot. This was after Kambosos went down to a bodyshot earlier in the round and took a standing eight count. Kambosos' corner threw in the towel after a second knockdown before the referee waved off the fight.

Professional boxing record

See also

• List of world lightweight boxing champions

Notes

1. World Boxing Association (WBA) (Super version), International Boxing Federation (IBF), and World Boxing Organization (WBO) titles.

References

1. ^ Top Rank tale of the tape prior to the Devin Haney fight.
2. Dalatariof, Panagiotis (2 March 2020). "George "Ferocious" Kambosos Jr – The unbeaten Greek Australian fighter who dreams of being world champion!". greekherald.com.au.
3. Kambosos Jr, George (12 September 2018). "I'm Australia's best athlete – George Kambosos Jr". greekherald.com.au.
4. ^ Dalatariof, Panagiotis (5 June 2020). "George "Ferocious" Kambosos Jr – The unbeaten Greek Australian fighter who dreams of being world champion!". theaustralian.com.au.
5. Santoliquito, Joseph (27 October 2020). "George Kambosos Jr. overcame bullying and scorn to reach prime time against Lee Selby". ringtv.com.
6. "Kambosos Jr. targets world top five - Boxing Monthly". 12 January 2021. Archived from the original on 12 January 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
7. Webster, Andrew (28 May 2022). "'Ferocious' Kambosos: the Australian sporting hero you've never heard of". smh.com.au.
8. Parkinson, Andrew (29 November 2016). "George Kambosos Jnr ready for Luna Park rumble". theleader.com.au.
9. Hamilton-Irvine, Gary (5 December 2016). "Boxing: Kambosos Jnr beats Ogilvie, remains undefeated". theleader.com.au.
10. Schelle, Caroline (1 May 2017). "Qamil Balla targets lightweight champ George Kambosos Jr". Herald Sun.
11. Parkinson, Andrew (8 May 2017). "George 12-0 after big victory". theleader.com.au.
12. "George "Ferocious" Kambosos 9th round TKO of Krai Setthaphon in Melbourne Highlights | SuperNewsWorld.com". 31 March 2022. Archived from the original on 31 March 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
13. "Pacquiao spars with Aussie who fights like Horn". news.abs-cbn.com. 4 June 2017.
14. "LOOK: Pacquiao begins hard sparring for Adrien Broner fight". news.abs-cbn.com. 4 December 2018.
15. "George Kambosos Jr. signs with Dibella". 12 May 2022. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
16. "George Kambosos Ready To Make a Big Splash in United States". BoxingScene.com. 5 May 2018.
17. "George Kambosos Jr Picks Up Win by KO over Jose Forero – BoxingSocialist". boxingsocialist.com. 7 May 2018.
18. "Kambosos, Pacquiao Sparring Partner, Easily Out-Boxes Perez". BoxingScene.com. 19 January 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
19. "Kambosos Jnr vs Bey - News, Tape, Ringwalk, TV, Streaming & Tickets". Box.Live. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
20. "George Kambosos Jr. Defeats Mickey Bey in biggest test of his career". 15 December 2019.
21. "Kambosos' big win snares world title shot". 31 October 2020.
22. "Selby vs Kambosos Jnr - News, Tape, Ringwalk, TV, Streaming & Tickets". Box.Live. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
23. "George Kambosos Gets Split Nod over Lee Selby in IBF Eliminator". 31 October 2020.
24. "IBF orders lightweight world title fight between Aussie George Kambosos Jnr and Teofimo Lopez Jnr". Fox Sports Australia. 9 January 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
25. "Lopez tests positive for Covid". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
26. "IBF ends Triller's Aussie plan for Lopez-Kambosos". ESPN.com. 9 August 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
27. "Lopez-Kambosos now targeted for Middle East". ESPN.com. 14 August 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
28. "IBF awards Lopez-Kambosos bout to Matchroom". ESPN.com. 6 October 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
29. "Eddie Hearn confirms Teofimo Lopez vs. George Kambosos will now be promoted by Matchroom Boxing, broadcast by DAZN | DAZN News US". DAZN. 6 October 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
30. "George Kambosos Jr. shocks Teofimo Lopez in split decision to become new unified world lightweight champion | DAZN News US". DAZN. 28 November 2021. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
31. ^ "George Kambosos vs. Devin Haney results: Haney outclasses Kambosos to unanimous decision victory". www.sportingnews.com. 4 June 2022. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
32. "Kambosos able to make weight after initial miss". ESPN.com. 4 June 2022. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
33. "Inside wild weigh-in talks — and the scale move that left Kambosos camp fuming". Fox Sports. 4 June 2022. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
34. "Haney-Kambosos produced domination ... and an unnecessary rematch". ESPN.com. 5 June 2022. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
35. "Devin Haney vs. George Kambosos Rematch Official: October 15 in Melbourne". BoxingScene.com.
36. "Devin Haney vs. George Kambosos 2 results: Haney dominant again, remains undisputed lightweight champ". 12 October 2022.

External links

• Boxing record for George Kambosos Jr. from BoxRec (registration required)
• George Kambosos Jr - Profile, News Archive & Current Rankings at Box.Live

• 1993 births
• Living people
• Australian male boxers
• Australian people of Greek descent
• Sportspeople of Greek descent
• Boxers from Sydney
• World lightweight boxing champions
• World Boxing Association champions
• International Boxing Federation champions
• World Boxing Organization champions
• International Boxing Organization champions
• The Ring (magazine) champions
• Sportsmen from New South Wales
• 21st-century Australian sportsmen