Unyielding – George Kambosos Jr. v Daud Yordan. 22nd March. Sydney, Australia

When George Kambosos Jr. steps through the ropes this Saturday in Sydney, he will know that he will have to put in a tremendous performance in the ring and he will have to be at his ferocious best to conquer the grizzled Indonesian puncher Daud Yordan. Anything less and it’s over.

Over the years, Kambosos Jr. has taken the hard road, and he knows a thing or two about pressure and fighting through adversity.

Yordan,37, has been fighting for nearly twenty years and has been relieving his opponents of their senses in spectacular fashion across Asia and beyond since he was a teenager. His only losses were to the Englishman, Anthony Crolla on points in 2018, a knockout loss in the twelfth round to the South African, Simpiwe Vetyeka, Chris John on points in 2011, Celestino Caballero on points in 2010, and a no-contest ruling in 2009 to Robert Guerrero.

The man known as ‘ Cino’ is hard as nails and he can fight and as he steps through the ropes in Sydney, he will know that a perfectly timed right hand will get him a shot at a world title and with it, life-changing money.

Whereas Yordan has been on a five-fight knockout streak at super lightweight, fighting across Asia, Kambosos Jnr has been mixing it with the best in the world.

Since beating Teofimo Lopez to become the unified champion, Kambosos Jnr has welcomed the challenge to face Devin Haney twice in 2022 and Vasyl Lomachenko in 2024. He was beaten and outboxed but he fought on with an unbelievable self belief inside that has made him the fighter he is.

On paper, this fight is a match-up of a proud brawling counterpuncher vs. a tough, stubborn, hard-punching fighter, with both of them knowing that losing cannot be an option. For the fans in attendance, this could very well be the perfect storm, a war of attrition with both fighters unyielding until they can’t anymore.

Regarding height and reach, there’s not much in it. Kambosos Jr. is coming up in weight, so he might be a tad slower with a bit more of a pop in his punches. Yordan is getting on for the weight but he does have power. If he still has the legs, he should not be underestimated and he has to be considered a dangerous man every three minutes. Kambosos Jnr is not considered a puncher of note so his strategy is to fight at pace and go to the body and take the veteran’s legs away and hit him with punches until he succumbs to the pressure. 

Yordan has been the distance but that was a long time ago. Kambosos is a distance fighter and that should be the difference in the fight.

Kambosos Jr., points win

Gary Todd is an international best-selling author with his books on boxing’s World champions. He has been involved in all aspects in the sport of boxing for over thirty years. Garytodd.org