By Owen Morgan
Lee Selby is preparing for Saturday night’s IBF final eliminator clash with George Kambosos Jr with one eye on making Welsh boxing history.
The Barry fighter wants to be the first ever Welsh boxer to become a two weight world champion by adding the IBF lightweight crown to the featherweight title he landed in 2015.
Selby made the move up to lightweight after losing his world title to Josh Warrington at Elland Road back in May 2018.
https://twitter.com/leeselby126/status/1322175558525046787
Since then he has won two in a row at 135lbs, most recently beating Ricky Burns over 12 rounds last October.
A win at Wembley Arena on Saturday will set him up for a history-making opportunity against highly rated champion Teofimo Lopez.
Selby says: “I’ll become the first Welshman to become a two-weight world champion. All I have to do is win two fights.
“Two fights and I’ve written my name into the history books. It would not only be massive for Welsh boxing, but British boxing too. You can’t put a price tag on that.”
A number of Welshman have had the opportunity to become two-weight world champions, including Caerphilly’s Robbie Regan and Newport’s Gavin Rees, but Selby is promising to go one better than his countrymen by dethroning Lopez if and when he gets the chance.
The 33-year-old Matchroom boxer said: “On October 31 you’re going to see a Lee Selby win, by any means possible, whether the stoppage comes or it’s a 12-round decision – you’ll see a Lee Selby win.
“I’ve had time to grow into the weight. During lockdown I was doing a lot of strength and conditioning work and I feel like a fully-fledged lightweight now.
“If I come through this fight then I’ll be in another massive world title fight.
“Teofimo Lopez is within touching distance and a dream is close to becoming a reality for me. It will be life-changing for me if I can get through this fight.”
Selby had been due to face Kambosos in Cardiff back in May, when the unbeaten Australian threatened to “retire” the Welshman in front of his home crowd.
Photos: Lee Selby, George Kambosos – Face-Off at Final Presser https://t.co/vVMR8hzcgH pic.twitter.com/OUnQC4wGPg
— BoxingScene.com (@boxingscene) October 29, 2020
However, Selby is not daunted by his opponent’s boasts, including claims he had the Welshman “shaking in his boots” during sparring sessions in California three years ago. Although he does acknowledge the Australian has talent.
“On social media he comes across quite outspoken and arrogant,” said Selby.
“He’s saying he’s going to do this and do that. To look at him, he looks like a very good fighter. He’s got fast hands; he looks like he can punch. He can box a bit as well; he brings a lot of pressure. He’s young, hungry and ambitious.
“When we did an e-press conference earlier in the year he told me that every time he hit me in sparring, he rocked me to my boots. That in itself just gave me extra confidence, knowing that he’s making up tales about sparring.
“You don’t speak to anybody like that. It is disrespectful. To me it’s water off a duck’s back. It doesn’t bother me. I don’t know whether he’s trying to get me to fall into a trap, but that’s just not who I am. I’ve got very thick skin.”
Selby v Kambosos is part of an impressive undercard for the Oleksandr Usyk v Derek Chisora clash and will be shown live on Sky Sports Box Office in the UK and DAZN in the United States.