Kambosos beats Wyllie, targets Hitchins and IBF title; Brown upsets Nicolson for WBC belt

George Kambosos Jr made a successful debut at 140 lbs with a win over a game Jake Wyllie.

George Kambosos Jr got back in the win column in his first 140 lb fight, taking the victory over late notice opponent Jake Wyllie in Australi.

Kambosos won by unanimous decision on scores of 115-113, 117-111, and 117-111, the latter two probably closer to what most observers had.

Kambosos (22-3, 10 KO) looked fast and sharp early on, but admitted that Wyllie (16-2, 15 KO) gave him a tough fight, making it rough and tumble and never giving up on the fight.

“It was a good war, he’s a tough kid, I know he was fully prepared,” Kambosos said. “My first fight at 140, he’s the best domestic guy at 140 outside of obviously me and the big names, but he’s got a lot in his future. I will help him out as the future goes on. Good on him, man, great fight.”

“He was tough, strong, he gave me a good fight. I felt great at the start, first four or five rounds, but he started coming on and I knew he would,” Kambosos added.

“That was a war, it was brilliant,” Wyllie said. “I prepared for this on five days’ notice, I was so excited for this moment, and I feel like I’ve won so many people over. I fought my heart out tonight and I feel like I’m destined for great things.”

Jokingly asked if he’d been given a refund for the tickets he’d purchased to attend this fight card before he wound up in the main event, Wyllie said he’d prefer a contract from promoter Eddie Hearn, who was at his side. Hearn promised that Wyllie would have a contract on Monday morning from Matchroom Boxing.

Kambosos says his target fight is now a fight with IBF super lightweight titleholder Richardson Hitchins.

Undercard results

• Tiara Brown SD-10 Skye Nicolson: Brown scores the upset on the road, fighting really well in a very competitive bout that was, I think, scored fair both ways, taking the WBC featherweight title. Nicolson (12-1, 1 KO) took one card, 96-94, and the other two went to Brown (19-0, 11 KO) on tallies of 96-94 and 97-93. I think you likely see a rematch; Nicolson has been hugely promoted by Matchroom and almost surely had a rematch clause, but the story of the night is really that however you scored it, Tiara Brown talked a great game coming in, and she delivered in the ring. Even if you edged it to Nicolson, Brown was definitely right there with her and by miles her toughest foe in the pros to date. Good fight.
• Teremoana Junior TKO-1 James Singh: Nothing fight. Teremoana goes to 7-0 (7 KO) with this all-but-a-walkover, with respect to Singh (12-6, 11 KO), who absolutely tried his best and all that. It’s not necessarily time to rocket Teremoana up the ranks, but a fight with Hemi Ahio — who won a gimme on the off-TV undercard — would make a lot of sense by the end of 2025.
• Cherneka Johnson TKO-7 Nina Hughes: “Sugar Neekz” makes it two straight over Hughes, this one more definitive. Good scrap again, as they both just came out firing, but Johnson (17-2, 7 KO) just had more going for her. Not a big surprise, really, as she’s the much younger and of the two, figured to have a lot more chance to be better than their competitive first bout from 10 months ago. At 42, Hughes (6-2, 2 KO) has probably really done as much as she’s going to do, but she had a good run even if we don’t see her again, and even counting how short her pro career was.
• Imam Khataev UD-10 Durval Palacio: A really good fight to watch, but one that may have really exposed the limitations and low ceiling of the 30-year-old Khataev (10-0, 9 KO), who couldn’t put Palacio (14-4, 11 KO) away despite dishing out a lot of good shots, and wound up looking the worse for wear. Scores were 98-90, 99-89, and 99-89, which don’t really tell the story of the fight but also aren’t unfair or anything, because Khataev did deserve the bulk of the rounds and dropped Palacio, but the Argentine was double tough and gave the impression that Khataev really only has the one speed, which just won’t be enough at higher levels. But Khataev at the very least is fun to watch, and he’s tough himself, as Palacio landed some great shots and isn’t a light puncher.