Is George Kambosos Jr Elite Or A One Hit Wonder?

Unfortunately, Daud Yordan had to withdraw from his upcoming bout on medical grounds, so now former unified lightweight world champion George Kambosos Jr will face Jake Wyllie (16-1, 15 KOs) on Saturday night March 22nd at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia, live on DAZN.

With a little less than one week to prepare for the fight, the 24-year-old Jake Wyllie has inherited a big opportunity. Wyllie’s opponent is a former world champion, but from a status standpoint, it has yet to be determined if George Kambosos is elite or a one hit wonder.

Back in November 2021, George Kambosos was a little-known 13-1 underdog when he faced the unified lightweight world champion Teofimo Lopez. In the final seconds of the opening round, Kambosos stunned the New York City crowd when he landed a counter right-hand shot that dropped Lopez.

The defending champion, Teofimo Lopez, would return the favor in the 10th when he landed a chopping right hand that sent Kambosos down to the canvas. The match was a back and forth battle that went the distance, as Kambosos won by way of split-decision.

Kambosos would return home to Australia to face the WBC champion Devin Haney. In the battle for undisputed, Devin Haney was dominant, as he thoroughly outboxed Kambosos and won via unanimous decision.

Four months later, on October 16, 2022, Kambosos stepped inside the squared circle for his rematch against Haney. Once again, Haney was superior, as he clearly outboxed Kambosos through the course of 12 rounds.

After dropping two consecutive matches to Haney, it was time for Kambosos to show that his victory against Teofimo Lopez wasn’t a fluke. The plan was for Kambosos to prove himself by being dominant and demonstrating that he was levels above Maxi Hughes.

On the night of the fight, things didn’t go according to plan, as Maxi Hughes was very competitive. Hughes was able to keep the fight close, but in the end, George Kambosos earned a majority decision victory and won the IBO lightweight title.

Kambosos would go on, and for the third time within a two year period, he entered the ring to face high level competition. Unfortunately for George Kambosos, it would mark the third time he would lose to the elite competitor.

Back in May 2024, George Kambosos was set to face Vasiliy Lomachenko. With 31 seconds to go in the 11th round, a bruised and bloodied Kambosos went down when Lomachenko landed a hard left to the body.

Kambosos was able to get up, but seconds later, he would go down for the second and final time when Lomachenko landed another solid left to the body. Now, the 31-year-old George Kambosos Jr (21-3, 10 KOs) could be one step away from fighting for a world title.

If Kambosos is able to defeat Jake Wyllie on March 22nd, the IBF super-lightweight world champion Richardson Hitchins has already verbally committed to giving Kambosos a shot at the 140-pound title. Usually, the challenger has the champion on his radar, but in this case, Hitchins is targeting Kambosos.

The boxing community is one of those groups that like to use labels, but when it comes to George Kambosos it’s rather difficult to place him in a specific category. Kambosos was a unified champion, but if he defeats Jake Wyllie and goes on to lose to Richardson Hitchins, will he solidify the label of one hit wonder?

On the flip side, if Kambosos defeats Wyllie and then goes on to defeat the skilled ring technician Richardson Hitchins, will Kambosos be included in the grouping with the elite names? As of now, Kambosos might not be amongst the elite, but he is elite in one particular category.

The Aussie boxer George Kambosos has proven himself to be a box office attraction. In his first bout against Devin Haney, at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia, the event drew a crowd of 41,129 fans.

George Kambosos is a skilled boxer who was fortunate enough to score an unexpected upset. If the bout against Richardson Hitchins does materialize and Kambosos loses, then that could seal his faith as it relates to fans unfairly categorizing him as a one-hit wonder.

Truth be told, George Kambosos isn’t a one hit wonder, he’s a former unified world champion who’s not afraid in regards to taking on the toughest of challenges.