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Former featherweight titleholder Lee Selby jumped two divisions up to lightweight last year, winning a pair of tough fights over Omar Douglas and Ricky Burns, and is now set to return on May 9 at home in Wales, facing George Kambosos Jr in an IBF eliminator.
The 33-year-old Selby (28-2, 9 KO) will be facing a younger, fresher opponent in the 26-year-old Kambosos (18-0, 10 KO), but says he’s got some ring time against the Aussie and that he’s hoping his big fight experience will carry him through in May.
“I’ve got a tough task ahead of me,” Selby admitted. “George Kambosos Jr is a very good fighter, unbeaten in 18 fights and he can punch and he can box. He’s a pressure fighter. I think he’s the seventh unbeaten fighter that I’ve boxed in my career and the third Australian, and I beat both of those.
“I shared the ring with Kambosos in the Wild Card gym, we sparred a few rounds and he’s a good fighter. In those couple of rounds I took enough away to know what I’ve got to do in the fight to beat him. One thing I’ve got over Kambosos is experience. He’s had 18 fights, I’ve had maybe 18 or 17 title fights. I have a wealth of experience, I’ve had six world title fights. I’m hoping that’s going to help me win.”
The winner will be in line to face the winner of the expected May 30 unification fight between WBA/WBO titleholder Vasiliy Lomachenko and IBF titleholder Teofimo Lopez, and Selby is quite realistic about how either of those fights would be seen by the public.
“I know I’d be a big underdog against each of those fighters, but I believe that if I box to the best of my ability on the night, I can beat anyone,”he said. “I should have been a lightweight a lot earlier in my career. After winning the [featherweight] world title and defending it, that’s when I should have stepped up to [junior lightweight] and then lightweight, but there was always those big fights looming, and being a champion, the last thing you want to do is give up your title. I’d rather lose it in the ring.”