Aussie boxing star George Kambossos Jr scores hugely controversial win – fuming with opponent Maxie Hughes: ‘It’s a kick in the balls… I don’t know what the judges were looking at
Kambossos wins controversial title eliminator Many boxing fans believe the decision was wrong Hughes was devastated by the judges’ decision
Former Unified World Lightweight Champion George Kambossos lost an incredibly controversial majority decision to English fighter Maxie Hughes in Shawnee, Oklahoma.
Kambossos has been relevant in the lightweight boxing division and added another belt to his collection with a controversial victory over IBO champion Hughes – who made the Aussie work hard.
One judge scored the fight 114-114 and two others scored it 117-111 and 115-113 in Kambosos’ favor.
The result drew cheers from the crowd, with ringside commentators and social media largely supporting Hughes.
The horrified ESPN commentary team scored in favor of Hughes, with the majority agreeing that Hughes won seven rounds to Kambossos’ five.
‘Absolutely disgusting scorecard, no way Cambosus won that fight,’ one fight fan tweeted.
‘The fight was clearly steady,’ commented another.
‘I guess this won’t be talked about too much but the worst scorecard I’ve seen this year is Kambossos not winning, I’m struggling to give him more than 3 rounds,’ said a third.
The bout was an eliminator for the IBF title against Devin Haney, who had defeated Kambossos in his last two bouts in Australia.
Considering the possibility of Haney Jr moving up to welterweight, 30-year-old Sydneysider Kambossos could fight Argentina’s No.1 contender Gustavo Lemos for the vacant title.
Hughes, who had won his last seven fights, lost his IBO lightweight world title to Kambossos, even though that organization is not considered one of the sport’s major governing bodies.
Kambossos (21-2, 10 KOs) said before the fight that he wanted to destroy Hughes (26-6, 5 KOs) but the 33-year-old southpaw fought in smart fashion and was never in trouble.
Hughes was devastated after the judges’ decision, apparently thinking he had done enough to secure his title.
Hughes was devastated by the judges’ decision, believing he had done enough to win
Kambossos threw more punches but landed at a lower percentage than Hughes, who countered well for most of the fight and controlled the range.
‘Don’t want to sound like a sore loser. It was a kick to the bollocks to be honest,’ he said.
‘I’m absolutely devastated.’
Kambossos landed several single power shots through the fight, but was unable to sustain the pressure on the crafty Yorkshireman.
The Australian threw more punches but landed a lower percentage than Hughes, who was in good counter and control range for most of the fight.
Kambosos threw a lot of jabs, but many fell short and didn’t score.
Both men were cut and bloody in the first half of the fight.
Kambossos was cut above his right eyebrow by Hughes’ left hand in the fifth round.
A cut opened above Hughes’ right eyebrow in the sixth after an accidental head butt.