George Kambosos vs Maxi Hughes fight prediction, odds, undercard, start time, preview, expert picks

After being dominated by Devin Haney twice, former unified lightweight champion George Kambosos looks to get back into the win column on Saturday night when he takes on Maxi Hughes. The fight is the first step for Kambosos in his attempt to fight back towards the heights he reached with his 2021 victory over Teofimo Lopez.

With the victory over Lopez, Kambosos received the WBO, WBA and IBF lightweight titles. By pulling off the big upset, Kambosos found himself in an unexpected position of power and was able to use that power to force any challengers to travel to his home country of Australia to challenge for his titles.

The original plan was for Kambosos to face the unified champion Vasiliy Lomachenko. That happened when Lomachenko stayed in Ukraine to help defend his country against the Russian invasion. Haney then entered, putting his WBC title on the line in an attempt to crown the undisputed champion.

Haney was just too talented for Kambosos, ruining Kambosos’ night in front of a packed crowd at Melbourne’s Docklands Stadium. Kambosos had used his leverage before the first bout to ensure that the rematch would also take place in Australia, giving Haney the chance to dominate Kambosos again in front of his countrymen.

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Kambosos will not be in Australia on Saturday night, instead fighting in Shawnee, Oklahoma. And the only title on the line is the highly respected IBO Championship. Despite these obvious downsides, the fight with Hughes is a serious threat to Kambosos.

Hughes doesn’t have much power, having stopped five opponents over 33 professional bouts. He is, however, a slow and tough boxer who is riding a seven-fight winning streak and is positioned to surpass the sport’s more meaningful ranks.

Hughes defeated former world champion Kid Galahad in his last outing, perhaps the best victory of Hughes’ career. There would be no doubt that a victory over Kambosos would surpass that as the best part of Hughes’ career.

Kambosos vs Hughes fight card, weird

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Prediction

Kambosos looked terrible against Lopez in a fight where he beat Lopez mentally before they entered the ring. Lopez then fought like a guy who didn’t respect his opponent’s skills and paid the price. Everything about that Lopez fight played into Kambosos’ hands. Haney was not the only situation and Kambosos, for all his skills, often struggles with fighters who approach fights in a more tactical way. You have to go back to June 2019 to find a Kambosos victory by anything but a split decision.

Hughes is not going to be an attacking hero running into Kambosos shots without a defensive responsibility. This may be a battle that comes down to who can make the better changes after the first few rounds. The potential for an upset is very high here but even going 1-2 over the stretch, Kambosos has been preparing at a higher level and dealing with better opposition which should make him better equipped to pull off a narrow victory. Select: Kambosos via MD