Fight Odds, Live Stream, Predictions

Vasiliy Lomachenko will head to hostile territory when he goes Down Under to take on Australian George Kambosos Jr. in a battle for the vacant IBF lightweight championship.

It’s a huge opportunity for both men as they highlight this weekend’s boxing schedule and have the opportunity to wrap some gold around their waist.

For Lomachenko, it’s the opportunity to gain a world title for the first since 2020. The 36-year-old is running out of time to add more belts to his resume and this is a good chance to be a champion once more.

For Kambosos, it’s the opportunity to recapture the IBF crown he lost to Devin Haney back in 2022 and pick up a signature win in front of his home country.

Here’s a look at all the information you need to catch the bout from Australia.

Fight Info and Odds

When: Saturday, May 11 (in the United States) at 10 pm ET; Sunday, May 12 at 12 pm local time

Where: RAC Arena in Perth, Australia

Tickets: Vivid Seats

Livestream: ESPN, ESPN+

Odds: Lomachenko (wager $700 to win $100); Kambosos Jr. +475 (wager $100 to win $475)

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Preview

Lomachenko is a fairly heavy favorite to win this fight, but there’s a lot of intrigue in a home underdog with a lot to prove.

Kambosos made his name in boxing with a stunning split-decision victory over Teofimo Lopez back in 2021. At the time, Lopez was looking like the next big thing, had three lightweight world titles and was coming off a win over Lomachenko.

Then came the Australian.

Coming off of back-to-back split decisions he was 19-0, but wasn’t expected to unseat Lopez. Instead, he put on the best performance of his career and took three belts at Madison Square Garden.

Unfortunately for him, his reign as champion was short lived. He got his first title defense in Australia and was beaten by unanimous decision by Devin Haney. A rematch against Haney in Melbourne didn’t go his way either.

Kambosos understands that a win here would do a lot for his legacy. Loma might be 36 years old but his name still carries a lot of weight.

“This fight cements me in the Hall of Fame, I truly believe it. They can’t deny that,” Kambosos said, per Jake Michaels of ESPN. “What I have been able to achieve, the fighters I’ve been able to fight, the events I’ve been able to bring to Australia… how can they deny Kambosos’ résumé?”

Lomachenko is still just outside of ESPN’s top 10 pound-for-pound rankings despite his recent run without a championship. A decision loss to Devin Haney was tightly contested with all four lightweight titles up for grabs.

He doesn’t need this win in the same way that Kambosos does. He’s already a decorated three-division champion with a Hall of Fame list of achievements.

But that’s what makes this fight intriguing.

Prediction

Ultimately, it’s hard to see Lomachenko not winning this one unless he’s fallen off the age cliff. The Ukrainian looked sharp against Haney and was much closer to winning that fight than many would have thought going into it.

Kambosos is not Haney. We’ve already seen that play out in the ring twice.

The Australian was not all that convincing in his last outing against Maxi Hughes. Even in the latter stages of his career Lomachenko is on a different level than Hughes.

Expect the southpaw to outclass Kambosos on the way to a relatively wide unanimous decision victory that sees him become a world champion again.

Lomachenko via decision