Aiming to be mixing it in that kind of company within a year, Kambosos Jr. is in prime position to predict what would happen if two of the top names in the world collided at 135 pound or a catchweight, having shared the ring with Pacquiao in the past training sessions.
A superb stoppage over Jorge Linares has been played on repeat ever since May 12 when Lomachenko stopped the Venezuelan to become a three-weight world champion, but Kambosos Jr. doesn’t believe a Pacquiao fight would produce the same outcome.
“Lomachenko’s win was a great victory over champion Linares. He showed he can overcome adversity, great angles and powered through as the fight was dead even by round ten,” Kambosos Jr. exclusively told World Boxing News.
“In saying that, there are holes in his game. He can be hit, he can be knocked down and he can be beat, which we have all seen in his twelve fights.
“I think Lomachenko can be put off and frustrated against someone with fast hands, great angles, power and a warrior mentality to bring the fight to him. Someone young, hungry and fresh coming into the game very well could take him off his throne. Who knows that someone might just be ‘Ferocious’ Kambosos.
“On the other hand, I think Manny Pacquiao on his best day can still beat anyone in the world and on his day would beat Lomachenko.
“After doing 50 rounds of sparring with Pacquiao for the Horn fight, it is evident that his speed, power and movement are still there and could cause serious problems for Lomachenko especially after he was knocked down against Linares.
“Remember, Manny has gone toe-to-toe with some huge welterweights so I don’t think Lomachenko’s power would be a problem for him. And if he does land them clean shots it could end very badly for Lomachenko.”
Asked his view on where both stand in the current pound for pound climate and whether Pacquiao’s best days are behind him, Kambosos Jr. was adamant the evidence of their sparring sessions proved the ‘Pacman’ still have a lot left in the tank.
“I’m not the guy to make that decision on whether Manny should still be fighting, that’s up to him and his team to say when its time. But personally, I think he still has two or three fights left at the top level,” predicted Kambosos.
“He trains extremely hard and still has them great boxing attributes that made him great which I saw first-hand in the rounds we did together.
“It will be interesting to see what version of Manny Pacquiao comes out against Lucas Matthysse. I think we will see the great Pacquiao once again in a dominating victory.
“On Loma, I do see him as the top guy at lightweight alongside Mikey Garcia, at the moment, but I don’t see him as the P4P number one in the world yet.
“I think there are a couple fighters that sit in front of him who have achieved more as a professional, like Terence Crawford and Gennady Golovkin,” he added.
Kambosos will be heading to the Pacquiao camp again as the eight-weight legend prepares to face Matthysse on July 14 in Kuala Lumpur.
Phil Jay is Editor of World Boxing News. Follow on Twitter @PhilDJay
