Like the music business, boxing has had its fair share of one-hit wonders. George Kambosos Jr. aims to avoid his name joining the list of those who have won a world title only to quickly lose it and fall from grace, when he faces Vasiliy Lomachenko for the vacant IBF lightweight title in Perth, Australia, Sunday morning. (Saturday, 10 pm ET in the US, ESPN /ESPN+).
For some, becoming champion is the beginning of the end, as they lose the belt in a first defense and then their careers take a nosedive. But it's too early to put Kambosos, 30, from Sydney, in that ignominious category yet.
Kambosos (21-2, 10 KOs) silenced Teófimo López's home crowd in New York when he won by split decision to claim three world lightweight titles in November 2021. Just over a year earlier, López had delivered the performance of his life to nullify Lomachenko's dazzling skills. But as a 7-1 betting favorite against Kambosos, Lopez was blindsided and sent to the canvas in the first round, and Kambosos then picked himself up off the canvas in the 10th round to take the split decision.
Kambosos didn't have much time to enjoy life as a champion. Seven months later, in Melbourne, the Australian lost his belts in a first defense against Devin Haney by unanimous decision. To prove it wasn't a fluke, Haney did an even better job in another decision win later in 2022 in Melbourne.
A controversial majority decision victory over Maxi Hughes last year set Kambosos up for his fourth world title fight in his last five fights.
Let's take a look at some fighters who haven't done much after winning a world title.
Stronger falls
Andy Ruiz Jr. caused a major upset when he stopped Anthony Joshua in the seventh round to win three world title belts in 2019 as a late substitute. Six months later, Ruiz entered the rematch weighing 15 pounds heavier than his first fight, and lost convincingly to Joshua's jab game by unanimous decision.
Ruiz has recorded two unanimous decision victories since then, but both Luiz Ortiz and Chris Arreola are over 40 years old. Ruiz (32-2, 22 KOs) weighed 268¾ pounds when he scored three knockdowns against Ortiz in September 2022. The Californian is scheduled to face Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller on August 3 in Los Angeles, his first fight since beating Ortiz, and is some way away from having a world title shot.
Joshua also ended the brief reign of Charles Martin, who entertainingly walked to the ring to face the Englishman in London with a huge crown in 2016. But he was far from majestic in the ring that night, as Joshua disposed of him in only two rounds. to win the IBF world heavyweight title. Martin collapsed as soon as Joshua began to land.
When Vyacheslav Glazkov injured his knee in the third round against Martin in January 2016, the American was crowned champion. Martin, now 38, has so far failed to regain the same elevated status and has suffered three more setbacks.
Deontay Wilder became champion for the first time when he defeated Bermane Stiverne in January 2015. Stiverne managed to become the first professional opponent to withstand Wilder's power and take him the distance, but lost a unanimous decision in a first defense of the belt. of the WBC that he had won. stopped Chris Arreola in the sixth round in May 2014. Stiverne's career then fell apart and Wilder knocked him out in one round in a rematch in 2017. That was the first of four consecutive losses, three by knockout, and he has not fought. from January 2023.
Other notable heavyweight champions who lost the title in a first defense and whose careers never recovered include Hasim Rahman (2001). The world was stunned when Lennox Lewis, the last undisputed world heavyweight champion of the three-belt era, underestimated and was unprepared for the altitude in Johannesburg and was subsequently knocked out by Rahman in five rounds. Lewis quickly made amends in a rematch seven months later, and Rahman was never world champion again despite fighting the likes of Evander Holyfield, James Toney, Wladimir Klitschko and Alexander Povetkin.
Lighter falls
Manny Pacquiao will go down in history as one of the all-time boxing greats, but towards the end of his career he lost to fighters who were unable to maintain their success at the elite level.
Kambosos' fellow Australian, Jeff Horn (20-3-1, 13 KOs), was also a brief custodian of world titles. Horn took advantage of a bad night for Pacquiao, one of the best boxers in recent years, when he won by unanimous decision to take the WBO welterweight title in Australia in 2017. Pacquiao complained about the controversial result, but there was never a rematch. . Horn won an early defense against the little-known Gary Corcoran, but was then stopped by Terence Crawford to end his reign less than a year after it began. Horn never fought for a world title again.
In his final fight, Pacquiao suffered a unanimous decision loss to last substitute opponent Yordenis Ugas in Las Vegas in August 2021. At 35 years old, Ugas was considered a safe opponent for the eight-weight world champion to get close to a great final fight. But Ugas ruined the party. Inspired by the opportunity on 11 days' notice, and perhaps taking advantage of the waning powers of the 42-year-old Pacquiao, Ugás won as a +350 underdog. Pacquiao had been preparing to face Errol Spence Jr., and the change of opponent, facing a fellow southpaw, perhaps contributed to the loss. Ugas' double jab was decisive in winning the WBA title. But Spence stopped Ugas in a unification title fight two years ago, and the Miami-based Cuban was outpointed by Mario Barrios in September 2023.
Pacquiao was at his peak when the Filipino ended Chris Algieri's brief reign. The New Yorker had survived two first-round knockdowns to bravely fight back and earn a split decision victory over Ruslan Provodnikov for the WBO junior welterweight title in June 2014. He moved up a division five months later and was knocked down six times. in a broad decision. defeat to Pacquiao. Algieri suffered further losses to Amir Khan, Spence and finally, at age 37, Conor Benn in 2021.
Miguel Cotto was one of the biggest stars of the era, but like Pacquiao, he ended his career with a shocking loss. His was against Sadam Ali in December 2017. Ali, who had been stopped by Jessie Vargas for the WBO welterweight title the previous year, had no desire to beat the Puerto Rican Hall of Famer, but made a exhibition inspired by a unanimous decision. Ali never reached the same heights again, as he lost the title in a four-round loss to Jaime Munguia, and then was stopped in his last fight by Anthony Young five years ago.
Cotto ended Yuri Foreman's short stint as WBA junior middleweight champion via ninth-round knockout in June 2010 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, seven months after Foreman won the belt against Daniel Santos. Foreman failed to win another world title despite 10 years of trying.
Sergio Mora, who rose to fame on NBC's reality show “The Contender,” won by majority decision to take the WBC junior middleweight title from Vernon Forrest in June 2006. But three months later, in Mora's first defense , lost the belt to a much improved Forrest by a wide unanimous decision. Mora was unable to capitalize on subsequent opportunities as he was stopped in two rounds by Daniel Jacobs and then in a seven-round rematch for the middleweight title in 2015 and 2016.
Further back
James “Buster” Douglas, overcoming daunting 42-1 odds to end Mike Tyson's sweep of the heavyweight division with a seismic 10th-round knockout in 1990, is perhaps the most obvious one-punch wonder in history. recent boxing history. Douglas, whose mother died 23 days before the fight, was inspired while Tyson was distracted. Douglas was overweight for a first defense against Evander Holyfield, who punished him in three rounds to win all the belts eight months later. Douglas was never remotely the same as he was that night against Tyson on February 11, 1990 in Tokyo.
Another one-hit wonder was Montell Griffin, who had a five-month reign as WBC light heavyweight champion in 1997. Roy Jones Jr. was in excellent shape, with a skill set that made him seem untouchable at the time. Jones seemed on the brink of another victory when Griffin took a knee in Round 9, only for Jones to be disqualified for punching his fellow American while he was down. Jones made Griffin pay in the rematch, delivering a savage KO in the first round. Griffin lost two more world title fights.
Leon Spinks may have been the 1976 Olympic gold medalist, but in 1978 the common wisdom was that Muhammad Ali would not feel threatened by the challenger, who would seek the world heavyweight title in only his eighth professional fight. Spinks, surprisingly, won by split decision. but Ali regained possession of his belts five months later after winning a rematch on points. Spinks lost two more world title fights and finished with a record of 26 wins, 17 losses and three draws.
Going back further, Randy Turpin's perfect display to outdo the great Sugar Ray Robinson in 1951 in London for the world middleweight title was another huge shock. But the Englishman lost a rematch just 64 days later to the imperious Robinson on the other side of the Atlantic, and he never regained the title.
