By: Hans Themistode
Since stomping into the backyard of Teofimo Lopez at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater and mercilessly ripping away Lopez’s IBF, WBO, WBA, and WBC franchise titles, George Kambosos Jr. has continued to scout the competition in search of his next opponent.
With several names near the top of the lightweight division entering the ring over the past few weeks, the 28-year-old has been spotted sitting front row in numerous arenas. On back-to-back nights, both WBC 135 pound titlist Devin Haney, and WBA “Regular” champion Gervonta Davis, defended their crowns. However, while both were ultimately victorious, Kambosos Jr. was impressed by only one of his possible future opponents.
“I think Haney had the better performance,” said Kambosos Jr. recently to a group of reporters.
Haney, 23, fought whom many considered to be his toughest opponent to date in Joseph Diaz on December 4th, at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Although Diaz had his moments, Haney would go on to systemically break him down before cruising to a unanimous decision victory.
One day later, Kambosos Jr. was spotted in attendance at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The Aussie product nestled comfortably into his chair as he took in the sights of the main event.
On the night, Davis, while successful in his defense of his secondary title, was given all he could handle against Isaac Cruz. Known for his ability to end contests in the blink of an eye and overwhelm his opponents, Kambosos Jr. was left disappointed by the Baltimore native’s performance. In fact, the newly minted 135-pound titlist gave Cruz a standing ovation for his tenacity and doggedness.
“Nothing too exciting,” continued Kambosos Jr. in reference to Davis. “It is what it is. He got the win. I had it very, very close, it could’ve been a draw but he edged it. Big respect to Isaac Cruz. He excited me, he’s a warrior.”
Cruz, 23, left a pro-Davis crowd speechless with his relentless pressure and unwillingness to fold underneath the power of his man. While he fought Davis on mostly even terms, the multiple division titlist revealed that Cruz’s ability to last 12 full rounds, was in part due to a severely injured left hand.
At the moment, Kambosos Jr. has yet to disclose whom he’ll defend his lightweight titles against next. And while Haney is presumably in the driver’s seat, Kambosos Jr. isn’t ruling out a possible showdown against Davis.
“That fight might be there, we’ll see.”