George Kambosos Jr’s possible fight with Lee Selby
It seems that everyone is starting to drop a fight schedule now that boxing has come out of the corner swinging back against the current COVID-19 pandemic.
The Premier Boxing Champions has already sent the boxing world into a gleeful frenzy by announcing unified welterweight champion Errol “The Truth” Spence (26-0, 21ko) will be defending the titles against former champion Danny “Swift” Garcia (36-2, 21ko).
Top Rank has also dropped some news of its own. They announced both WBO champions Shakur “Fearless” Stevenson (13-0, 7ko) and Jamel “Semper Fi” Herring (21-2, 10ko) will be making a return in the summer. However, the bombshell news is a lightweight unification fight between two of its biggest stars. Namely, unified lightweight champion Vasyl “Hi-Tech” Lomachenko (14-1, 10ko) will face rival stablemate and IBF champion Teofimo “El Brooklyn” Lopez (15-0, 12ko).
Now, Matchroom Boxing is laying out its fight schedule for their reopening in the UK. One scheduled bout in particular could have title implications. Former IBF featherweight champion Lee “Lightning” Selby (28-2, 9ko) will face George “Ferocious” Kambosos Jr (18-0, 10ko) in what could be a possible IBF lightweight title eliminator. The target date for the match-up is July 11.
This is a huge opportunity for both fighters. Given how the IBF organization operates, the winner will undoubtedly get a shot at the title. One thing certain with the IBF is when it comes to their rankings, this organization doesn’t mess around.
INTERESTING FACTS
This fight was originally scheduled for May 2, 2020. However, like everything else, it got swept away in the pandemic storm like all other fights.
The reason that this could be a title eliminator is because of each fighters’ ranking. The top two slots are vacant, while Kambosos Jr. and Selby hold ranks 3 and 4, respectively. Furthermore, Kambosos Jr holds the WBA Oceania/IBF Pan Pacific titles, which gave him a bump in the rankings.
Selby is a former IBF champion and defeated a tough Omar “Super O” Douglass to win one of the organization’s minor belts in the form of the Inter-Continental lightweight title. This saw him get a favorable bump up in the rankings.
The former champion also helped keep his case for another title opportunity alive by edging former three-divisional champion Ricky “Rickster” Burns (43-8-1, 16ko) back in 2019.
It seems that everyone is onboard for getting serious about making quality fights as boxing makes it’s return. This bodes well for fans, who can finally get ready to have their itch scratched.
By: Garrisson Bland
