Former unified lightweight champion George ‘Ferocious’ Kambosos Jr 21-2 (10) is leaving no stone unturned as he prepares for his fight for the vacant IBF 135-pound title against former three-weight world champion Vasiliy Lomachenko 17-3 (11) at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia on May 12.
Ukrainian southpaw Lomachenko, 36, is widely recognised as one of the best boxers in the world and Kambosos knows he will need to be in optimal condition to defeat him.
That is why the 30-year-old Australian says he is focusing solely on his preparation for the bout rather than promotional activities for the fight.
Kambosos has put together what he believes is a winning team to help him achieve his goal.
“I have a very good lead coach in Anton [Kadushin], one of the head Olympic coaches for Russia. We have some Russian Killers coming. Soviet, ex-Soviet killers coming to put me through my paces, to give me that that proper work,” Kambosos said to TBC Network.
“Obviously I’ve done a lot of work in America but I don’t need America at this stage with my camp. My style needs to be perfected against guys that have that European, Russian style, the Soviet style, Ukrainian style. That’s what I need.
“Like I said, things sometimes just happen and God works in mysterious ways. We got a coach who, it’s his bread and butter. He knows the style and knows the sparring partners. We are bringing the right guys to Australia.
“Camp will be very closed off in my gym, private, putting in the work. That’s all that matters. I will not get lost like I have in the past. I’m not here to promote like crazy, I’ll do my what I do, but my focus has been on this fight.
“This is not about money, this is not about belts, same for Lomachenko. We have both. This is about legacy and beating this legend.”
Kambosos and Lomachenko have a common opponent in Devin Haney. The former lost a pair of unanimous decisions to the reigning WBC junior welterweight and former undisputed lightweight champion in 2022, while the latter lost a split decision in May last year.
“We look at everything,” Kambosos said. “We were there ringside, we’ve gone back and analysed that fight. Both fighters did tremendous job. Devon did a fantastic job at the start of the fight, Vasiliy came on strong and did what he does and at the backend of the fight.
“We study [everyone]. We are the ultimate professional in this sport. I’m in this sport and I make sure that I’m very thorough with everything that I do. We will study and continue studying more and more of Lomachenko and the fights that he has had and continue finding these holes.
“There are holes there, many holes. I look forward to doing what I do best, bringing my style, bringing the other things I’ve been able to do and already been doing in the gym with this new coach and new team.
“When I say new coach, I mean lead coach. We are still going to have many familiar faces. We are bringing in the guys that I had in the US, they are coming here. We have coaches from the US coming over.
“We have many familiar faces but we’ve got a really good lead right now that knows the game, knows the bread and butter of that style.
“This is not a guy that I’ve just picked up in a week. We have been working together for the last five months just after my last fight. We crossed paths and that’s what I needed, that refreshing that energy, that new style.
“Again, if we go back early in my career, obviously people know that I come up under that Russian kind of style. So I know that style very well.
“I had my first 10 years in the sport, day in, day out, with that style. I went to the US and have to do what I to do and pick up more artillery, but now to have that, plus more, is refreshing and exciting.”