IT is remarkable, really, that George Kambosos Jr, a man who has lost three – arguably four – of his last five outings, has somehow managed to fiddle his way towards another world title shot.
In many ways, the 31-year-old is still dining out on his monumental upset victory over Teofimo Lopez, almost allowing that one performance, which arrived in 2021, to define his identity as a fighter.
And yet so much has changed over the past few years, not least regarding his credentials, or lack thereof, at world level.
His defeats to Devin Haney and Vasyl Lomachenko were, of course, hardly catastrophic, given the quality of those two operators.
More alarming, however, was his lacklustre performance against Maxi Hughes in 2023, as despite edging a highly-contentious majority decision, ‘Ferocious’ nonetheless displayed several signs of his technical limitations.
And it is not as if his last fight was a roaring success, either. As it happened, the 31-year-old went life and death with Jake Wyllie, a largely unproven super-lightweight, who produced a titanic effort and, in turn, pushed his vastly more experienced opponent to the brink.
Sure enough, Kambosos, 22-3 (10 KOs), was forced to reach deep into his tool kit during their 12-round battle, only to find little more than a dogged desire to win.
That, along with his tremendous engine, proved just enough to outpoint Wyllie. But against Hitchins, 19-0 (7 KOs), someone with many more strings to his bow, it is fair to say that the Australian will need an extra gear that he has not previously appeared to possess.
Unlike his next opponent, Hitchins came through his last outing, which saw him dethrone Liam Paro, in typically comprehensive fashion.
More than anything else, the IBF world super-lightweight champion demonstrated a prolific jab while, at the same time, performing a series of polished defensive manoeuvres last December.
Richardson Hitchins vs George Kambosos Jr Fight Prediction
And those two aspects, in particular, should be enough to tie Kambosos up in knots.
Less likely is the former lightweight king to solve the puzzle in front of him, expertly cutting off the ring to nullify his technically superior opponent’s movement.
Rather, it would appear that Hitchins is well-equipped to orchestrate a one-sided beatdown, perhaps even at the expense of an enthralling spectacle in front of his home fans.
But either way, the outcome of their clash at the Madison Square Garden Theater, New York, this Saturday is almost rubber stamped, representing an awkward 12-round encounter for Kambosos to say the least.
