Every Thursday here at FightHype, boxing fans gather around my bulbous, bulging sack in anticipation of an Ol’ Faithful money shot of gooey, salty truth. This Thursday is no different. So, put your goggles on and cinch up your plastic poncho, here it comes. This week, we have comments/questions regarding George Kambosos’ next opponent, Keith Thurman’s future, and the rise of Jaron Ennis.
Kambosos vs. ?????
George Kambosos is reverting to verbal assaults regarding his potential opponent’s capability to bring in an audience. He recently downplayed the idea of fighting Devin Haney because supposedly Devin Haney isn’t a draw. That means the risk isn’t worth the reward. If Haney isn’t a draw then who is?
Lomachenko is another name. He might have a better following than Haney. But Lomachenko fighting in Australia is just as big a draw in the box office as Haney is. Lomachenko doesn’t move the needle for viewership in the states either. Based on styles and experience, Lomachenko is even a heavier risk than fighting Haney. If he’s not fighting Haney, that means he isn’t fighting Lomachenko either.
If he wants to fight a guy who is a big draw. Make no doubt about it, Gervonta “Tank” Davis is his guy. Right now, Gervonta will put more butts in seats and couches than anyone at 135.
Kambosos v. Garcia would be the fight I would make if I were Dibella. I’d get Ryan in the ring ASAP. But is Oscar willing to risk his only asset? Especially coming off of a long layoff. If I’m Oscar, I’d take the gamble and go all in. If Ryan wins he becomes a Canelo-like brand overnight. But in regards to Kambosos, the clock is ticking, he’s in the deepest division and he has all the belts. He needs to put ink to paper before the sanctioning bodies force him to fight somone.
What’s your take on Kambosos’ next opponent?
— Nail Rahman
Hey Nail.
By the time this Sack gets posted, I should already have an article up about pretty much this same topic.
Kambosos isn’t wrong about Haney. The kid is NOT a draw in any sense of the word and brings nothing but risk with the tiniest of reward (unless DAZN throws a shitload of money at this fight– which they don’t seem willing to do because they’re fully behind Ryan Garcia getting the fight).
I don’t think Kambosos’ point is that he won’t fight Haney because Haney’s not a draw, although his people may be thinking that. I think Kambosos is just having a laugh at Haney’s expense after all the talk from Haney and his team and the sometimes delusional posturing. At this point, I think Kambosos is a bigger draw in the US than Haney. There are a few reasons for that, but I pretty much cover that in my article from a day or two ago.
If Kambosos’ first defense is in Australia, he’s clearly the draw when it comes to live gate and at-home TV ratings. The international money is going to come from the opponent’s side and that immediately eliminates Haney, whose name doesn’t move the needle one bit and whose network host is not ponying up any money or exploring pay-per-view options for him. Lomachenko brings significantly more than Haney when it comes to attention and ratings, but a Loma fight would be a stylistic suicide mission for Kambosos.
Ryan Garcia absolutely makes the most sense for Kambosos. He’s got name value, drawing power, and, to be honest, he’s more beatable than any of the other top lightweights. The only drawback is that everyone will have to be holding their breath the entire way to fight night, hoping that Garcia won’t pull out.
Forget about Gervonta Davis. Kambosos’ team has (smartly) not shown the least bit of interest in Gervonta Davis and Davis, meanwhile, has returned the indifference. It would be a great fight from Davis’ side of things, but his people just don’t seem to care at all about it.
If I were Kambosos, I’d go for a soft touch defense at home for a nest egg payday first. Then, right into a Ryan Garcia fight. After that, who knows?
Thurman vs. Spence/Ugas?
Hey Paul, hope all is well. I’ll get right to it. Thurman looked like he could make some good fights for the top dogs in the WW division. Will he get the winner of Spence and Ugas? Next question– who you got? I think that should be a banger of a fight. I got Spence by close decision. Last, does [Jaron] Ennis get a crack anytime soon?
— Nick
Hey Nick.
Thurman will be a factor at the highest level of the welterweight division– if he chooses to be a factor. If he stays active and stays sharp, he has a solid chance against any of the welterweight tops dogs and would probably secure a firm top 3 spot behind Spence and Crawford.
The question, however, is always whether he WILL stay active and sharp and not just fade away after another payday or two. Thurman is a smart man who handles his fight business like a smart man, which is not always a fan-friendly course of action. We’re not going to see him run through a gauntlet of extreme challenges in pursuit of warrior greatness, we’re probably going to keep seeing him pick his spots and fight on his own timeline until he can’t fight at a high level anymore.
In this particular run, I can see him sitting out the rest of 2022 and getting the winner of Spence-Ugas early next year. If he does get the winner, I see him beating Ugas via decision, fairly decisively, and losing a close decision to Spence (but I’d like to see how Spence looks against Ugas before locking in that pick).
Ennis is going to have to get a crack soon. He’s working his way up the rankings of all four sanctioning bodies and there are only so many interim belts they can throw at him. Ennis’ situation is a bit odd since he’s worked a lot of PBC shows, but is technically not a PBC fighter. I see that changing, officially, in the near future. It’s just smart business to be “all in.” All the big welterweight fights are to be had via the PBC route, unless a one-off Terence Crawford fight appeals to him.
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