A POSTER boy of Australian boxing in recent years and a former unified lightweight world champion, George Kambosos, 21-3 (10 KOs), now embarks on a new quest to build his legacy further. The Aussie hopes to follow in the footsteps of Jeff Fenech and Vic Darchinyan to become Australia’s third multi-divisional male world champion.
That supposed title charge begins on Saturday night, as Kambosos faces a compatriot for the first time since 2017, tasked with Australian super-lightweight champion Jake Wyllie, 16-1 (15 KOs), who steps in as a late notice replacement for Daud Yordan and hopes to upset the apple cart.
All three of Kambosos’ losses have come on home soil, with career-best wins against Lee Selby and Teofimo Lopez accomplished as the away fighter. The latter will live long in the memory as one of the greatest ever displays from an Australian fighter.
That victory over Lopez saw ‘Ferocious’ become the unified WBO, WBA and IBF lightweight world champion. However, the Sydney-born operator was unable to go on and claim the undisputed crown, twice losing out to Devin Haney in Melbourne.
A controversial victory over Maxi Hughes saw Kambosos return to the winners’ column and claim the IBO strap to earn a subsequent challenge for Vasyl Lomachenko’s IBF marble last year. Still, Kambosos would suffer the first stoppage defeat of his career in what turned out to be his lone outing of 2024, as ‘Loma’ capped off an impressive performance with a knockout in round 11 in Perth.
After 10 months away, Kambosos will now seek to begin life as a 140lber with a bang, whilst Wyllie attempts to spoil the party and prove that his punch power translates to the top level of the sport.
The Queensland-based underdog has stopped his opponent in all but one of his 16 career wins, with a split decision win over current featherweight contender Dana Coolwell representing the only time that he has gone the distance.
Wyllie became the Australian super-lightweight champion when he halted Dylan Emery inside four rounds back in November and re-appeared less than a month ago in an eventual no-contest against Allan Villanueva. That bout was waived off in the third round after the Filipino suffered a cut caused by a head clash.
Despite his strong record on paper, Wyllie is expected to be somewhat overmatched come Saturday night as Kambosos bids for his first knockout win since 2019 and his first victory in his home country since 2017.
On the undercard, the Australian nation showcases its wide range of talent, including reigning WBC featherweight champion Skye Nicolson, 12-0 (1 KO), two-division world champion Cherneka Johnson, 16-2 (6 KOs), and rising light-heavyweight and heavyweight contenders, Imam Khataev, 9-0 (9 KOs), and Teremoana Teremoana Jr., 6-0 (6 KOs), respectively.
