FORMER unified lightweight world champion George Kambosos Jr, 21-3 (10 KOs), is set to fight in his hometown for the first time in over eight years, but the opponent choice for his homecoming was viewed as a left-field selection by some.
Now, with six weeks until fight night, the Aussie has provided further details on why 37-year-old Daud Yordan, 43-4 (31 KOs), has been chosen for the away corner.
Kambosos famously dethroned Teofimo Lopez for the WBO, WBA and IBF lightweight titles in 2021 in one of the most high-profile upsets in recent years, but the Sydney-born contender has had limited success since.
‘Ferocious’ lost his titles to Devin Haney by unanimous decision in an attempted first defence of the belts and suffered a similar fate in their rematch four months later, losing both bouts on Australian soil by a wide margin.
However, Kambosos got back to winning ways upon his return to the United States when he outpointed Maxi Hughes in July 2023 in a much-disputed majority decision that left Hughes heartbroken and robbed the Brit of a showdown with legendary pound-for-pound star Vasyl Lomachenko.
Instead, it was Kambosos who earned his shot at ‘Loma’ and the IBF lightweight world title, as he brought the Ukrainian ‘Down Under’ but suffered a knockout defeat for the first time in his career, being halted in round 11 after being outclassed in the rounds prior.
Now 31 years old, Kambosos hopes to kickstart a new chapter in his career and end a run of what some deem to be four straight defeats, moving up a division and hoping to mount a challenge for the super-lightweight world titles.
For his 140lb debut, the selection of former WBA super-featherweight title challenger Yordan seemed at first to be an out-of-the-blue one, but speaking with Fight Hype, Kambosos mentioned unfinished business with the Indonesian following their cancelled meeting in 2016.
“There’s history between me and Daud. I respect him because he is a master with a very big record, he has fought some very good challengers. He had a good knockout win in his last fight, he has gone the distance and had a hell of a fight with Anthony Crolla, as well as Chris John, who is a legend of the sport.”
Additionally, Kambosos detailed the support that he expects Yordan to have back in his home and explained that the fight will come just days after a World Cup qualifier between the Australian and Indonesian football teams at the Allianz Arena, meaning that many of Yordan’s fans will already be in Sydney.
“He is a Senator of his country; we have got 290 million Indonesians as a population, so, of course, they are going to jump in to watch the DAZN broadcast.
“There is a big event a couple of days before as well with Australia vs. Indonesia, so I am hearing that there is a lot of fans supporting him. He is a Senator; he is a man of the people and I’m looking forward to it.”
Kambosos-Yordan will take place on Saturday, March 22, at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, where a strong undercard supports what Kambosos believes could be his last-ever fight in Australia.
