JRE MMA Show #116 with George Kambosos

Joe Rogan 0:00 (drumbeats) Joe Rogan podcast, check it out.

George Kambosos Jr. 0:04 The Joe Rogan Experience.

Joe Rogan 0:06 Train by day, Joe Rogan podcast by night, all day. (instrumental music plays) George, congratulations.

George Kambosos Jr. 0:17 Thank you.

Joe Rogan 0:18 What does it feel like?

George Kambosos Jr. 0:19 Yeah, look, it's been pretty crazy. You know, f- obviously on top of the world right now.

Joe Rogan 0:23 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 0:23 But, um... You know, I've had that vision-

Joe Rogan 0:24 Does it feel like you're living in a fog, like a dream?

George Kambosos Jr. 0:28 A little bit, but I've had that vision, you know, for so long, you know, have manifested it for so long and, um, you know, before this fight, even as a young amateur, I knew I'd be world champion. I knew one day my time would come and, you know, it finally did.

Joe Rogan 0:42 Well, I was told about you a couple of years ago by my friend Vinny Shorman, uh, who is, uh, big in the Muay Thai world, and Liam Harrison is a-

George Kambosos Jr. 0:50 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 0:50 ... Muay Thai world champion. They were telling me how awesome you were years ago. But, uh, until Saturday night of last week, the world, you know, they didn't know. They had to see it.

George Kambosos Jr. 1:00 Yeah, look, uh, both great guys and, um, I think it was 2018, I was in the sp- in, uh, Wild Card Gym sparring. And I'm in the ring and I see these two guys and they're watching, so I thought, "You know, I'll put on a show for these guys, and let's see, they might be someone that can take me to the next level, they might be promoters, who knows?" So I always wanna put a- put on a show. And, uh, they couldn't believe it. And then I knew that they were coming on your show when I started speaking to them. And when they dropped my name on it, I was like, "Wow, this is amazing."

Joe Rogan 1:28 (laughs)

George Kambosos Jr. 1:28 And now I'm here with you. You know, so...

Joe Rogan 1:31 Well, your performance against Teofimo was, uh, spectacular. It was amazing. And, um, I mean, it was a, a fight where w- how much of an underdog were you coming into that fight?

George Kambosos Jr. 1:42 I was a huge underdog, you know, seven to one underdog.

Joe Rogan 1:45 Wow.

George Kambosos Jr. 1:45 You know, BetOnline.AG had me seven to one, so, you know, um, that just shows you the adversity that you have to come through. You can be a massive underdog, but no matter what, you know, you get through it and you, you can win whatever you choose to do.

Joe Rogan 1:58 Well, you were undefeated coming into that fight, but you just hadn't faced the same level of opposition that he had. And it didn't mean that you weren't capable of it, it just, you just hadn't had the opportunity before. So it wasn't a seven to one, like, they didn't think you had the skills. It was seven to one that you just hadn't had that, that moment in the sun before.

George Kambosos Jr. 2:18 I think because... That's right, I haven't had my moment yet leading into that fight, but, you know, he was coming off the big Lomachen- Lomachenko fight.

Joe Rogan 2:27 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 2:27 The big win there. What he'd done in that fight, so impressive. He knocked out Richard Commey as well, so the hype, the, the, the noise that he was making, this was just gonna be a normal mandatory fight, you know, that took so long to make, and, um, he was supposed to just do the business and move on to something bigger. But, you know, that hunger that I had, you know, that, that tunnel vision to show who I am, to show how great I am. And I had to go through it all in that fight, you know, from the cuts to being put down in round 10, but I knew that this is my greatness now, how, how good I can be and show the world and shock the world.

Joe Rogan 3:00 It is... You definitely did shock the world. It is a reoccurring theme in boxing, and in all combat sports, when someone takes an opponent lightly and they go in thinking they're just gonna steamroll this guy and then they get met with reality. I mean, it's happened so many times in fighters' careers. And then there's also the other reoccurring theme, a guy like yourself, who has his eyes on the prize, is completely focused, and people are counting them out, and then they rise to the occasion and become a superstar.

George Kambosos Jr. 3:33 Y-

Joe Rogan 3:33 And that's what happened to you.

George Kambosos Jr. 3:34 You, you say it many times. A- and I feel that he didn't take me lightly because he was in great shape, he was in unbelievable condition. I felt as we led into the fight and we had that first press conference where we looked into each other's eyes and I saw that the, you know, a, a guy who... It came too fast and you needed to be matched with someone that was not gonna take a step backwards. And the whole thing was his whole preparation, I was never gonna take one step backwards. I never gave him that, that inch. And even in the fight, I never gave him that inch. I was always there to be dominant. And I felt like he was a, he was a bully kind of character, you know-

Joe Rogan 4:09 Mm-hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 4:09 ... where he bullied Lomachenko, he bullied Commey.

Joe Rogan 4:12 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 4:13 He bullied all his, his past opponents. But, you know, I've come from bullying. I was an overweight kid at a young age.

Joe Rogan 4:19 (laughs)

George Kambosos Jr. 4:19 I've been bullied all my life. You know-

Joe Rogan 4:20 You were overweight?

George Kambosos Jr. 4:21 I was overweight. I used to be 135 pounds at like 10 years of age until I fell into boxing. So, you know, I knew straight away, I go, "Okay, I know how to stand up to this guy. I know what I got to do in this fight." And he saw how serious I was, so, you know, we, we, we stayed focused, we kept the tunnel vision, and we, uh, we done the business.

Joe Rogan 4:39 Well, you did a beautiful job of boxing him as well. I mean, you stayed in the pocket and cut angles, you landed beautiful combinations. That one right hand in the first round, though, really set the tone for that fight. When you sat him down at the end of the first and dropped him, and it was just... And, and it was a hard right hand. I mean, it was a beautiful right hand. And when you see his eyes roll back and he drops and he gets up and he's like, "What the fuck just happened?" That was a giant wake-up call and it really set the tone for the rest of the fight.

George Kambosos Jr. 5:10 Yeah, it did. Um, I went into that f- that first round, I knew he'd be very emotional, I knew he took it so personal, and leading up to the whole fight week when I kept getting asked, "Is this personal for you?" Because I knew, I knew it was so personal for him. I said, "No, this is business for me, you know, this is, it's another fight. This is what I love to do. Doesn't matter who's in, in that side of the ring for, uh, fighting against me." And, um, I knew I had to get his respect straight away. He would come out crazy, I stayed composed, I landed some really good short shots on the, uh, on the inside in that first round. And like the great Cus D'Amato said to Muhammad Ali when he fought George Foreman, he goes, "How am I gonna beat this guy? How, how can I beat this puncher?" And Cus goes, "Hit him with the right hand. In the first round hit him with your best right hand and show him that, hey, I can punch as well." And I had that in my head, you know? I, I have the great book by Cus D'Amato and I have it highlighted and before I went to the arena, I went over it and I showed it to my- to just have it in my head.

Joe Rogan 6:04 What a, an amazing mind he had.

George Kambosos Jr. 6:07 He had.

Joe Rogan 6:07 Cus D'Amato's mind for boxing, and for the psychology of boxing was just so incredible. You know? And the fact that Mike Tyson found that man when he was 13 years old-

George Kambosos Jr. 6:18 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 6:18 ... it's almost like destiny, you know?

George Kambosos Jr. 6:20 And you know what? Uh, uh, I believe that everything in life is destiny. You know, I look at m- my road to, to get to the championship, it's just, it's just fallen into place. But with destiny, you need to work hard. You need to, you know, take it in your own hands as well. But everything's meant to be, and that right hand was meant to be. And I said it to my team, I go, "You watching the first round, you're gonna catch him early. I'm gonna hurt him with something." Because I knew I was looking for that right hand. And when he came out crazy and he, you know, he was heavy on the front foot, he tried to fake the jab and I saw that front foot right there, I knew his head wouldn't move.

Joe Rogan 6:52 Hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 6:52 I go, "Okay, here it is. Here's that shot I've been dreaming about my whole life."

Joe Rogan 6:56 Bang.

George Kambosos Jr. 6:57 I let it go like a lightning strike.

Joe Rogan 6:59 Let's take a look at it. Jimmy, show me that punch, 'cause that was just so beautiful. I screamed when I was at home and I watched it.

George Kambosos Jr. 7:05 Yeah. It was-

Joe Rogan 7:05 I yelled out. I was by myself-

George Kambosos Jr. 7:07 Was you?

Joe Rogan 7:07 ... sitting in the living room. Oh!

George Kambosos Jr. 7:09 The whole world just jumped up and go, "Okay-"

Joe Rogan 7:11 Yeah. Oh, my god.

George Kambosos Jr. 7:11 "... now we gotta fight." Because I don't think many expected me to even stand a chance in the first round. You know, they were so vocal about one round, one round-

Joe Rogan 7:19 Hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 7:19 ... especially his dad. (smacks lips) But-

Joe Rogan 7:21 Well, his dad made a huge bet. Didn't he bet $100,000 that he was gonna knock you out within two rounds?

George Kambosos Jr. 7:26 Yeah. Well, I wanna find out the person he bet against, because-

Joe Rogan 7:29 Here it is. Here it is. Take a look at this and-

George Kambosos Jr. 7:30 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 7:30 ... take it in.

George Kambosos Jr. 7:31 See that short left hook there? Yeah.

Joe Rogan 7:32 Nice, beautiful left hook. Well, it's, you were in front of him, but you weren't there.

George Kambosos Jr. 7:36 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 7:36 That was what was beautiful about it. Like, your head movement, like right there, that angle, God, it's just g- gorgeous boxing. Here it is. Right here, baby. Bank.

George Kambosos Jr. 7:46 One-

Joe Rogan 7:46 Oh, my goodness.

George Kambosos Jr. 7:48 And I saw it in his eyes as soon as I landed that shot and he got up, he thought, "What the fuck was that?" (laughs)

Joe Rogan 7:53 Yeah. You can see it right there, he's like, "Whoa."

George Kambosos Jr. 7:55 Yeah. "Now we're in a fight."

Joe Rogan 7:56 And then the, the fake smile was just-

George Kambosos Jr. 7:57 And this shot I land here, bang.

Joe Rogan 7:59 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 7:59 I was a little bit off balance, but that shot there was, was probably-

Joe Rogan 8:03 Mm-hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 8:03 ... more devastating than the, the original shot. And then I'm just going off, I had to say it, I said, you know, "Now I'm here. If one round..."

Joe Rogan 8:10 Is that what you said to him?

George Kambosos Jr. 8:11 That's what I said, "One round, okay-"

Joe Rogan 8:13 Oh, my goodness.

George Kambosos Jr. 8:13 "... now we're in a fight."

Joe Rogan 8:15 It was an amazing performance. Why, why was it emotional for him? What was, what was about that?

George Kambosos Jr. 8:20 He had this, um, this theory in his head, and the people around him, you know, someone told him that... When he tested positive for COVID and we were in Miami, you know, I was very upset, very disappointed. You know, I trained four- for four months in preparation-

Joe Rogan 8:35 Why... Wasn't this sh- this fight was rescheduled like five times?

George Kambosos Jr. 8:37 Yeah. Well, June 19th was the original date. And, um, four days out, he tests positive for COVID. So on the day that I found out, obviously I'd been away from my kids, my family. I flew in my pregnant wife, you know, out to be with me, you know, for that fight week. She took a lot of sacrifice as well, because the doctors were telling her not to go-

Joe Rogan 8:55 Hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 8:55 ... with the way the world is at the moment, but-

Joe Rogan 8:57 Right.

George Kambosos Jr. 8:57 ... you know, that's the sacrifice we make. And, um, you know, when I found out, I was devastated. Literally wanted to cry because this is how much it meant to me. And then I was obviously angry and upset. So that night when we were going back to our room, we had a f- uh, a dinner and we went to the, the room. On the way to the room, there was the bar, and his team were, were having a good time and enjoying themselves. Obviously, not, Lopez was not there. And I found it strange, I go, "Why are they enjoying themselves? You know, their son just, you know, ruined the fight." But, um, one of his team members tried to be a smart-ass and come up and tried to take a photo-

Joe Rogan 9:32 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 9:32 ... and tried to be, you know, tried to ag- aggravate me. And I got my wife, I got m- my, my father with me, I've got my team. I said, "Look, just stay away. It's not the time. You know, I don't know, you guys might have COVID, you know, you're with your, with Lopez all the time." And they got a little bit more aggressive and tried to push the matter. And I said, "Look, just get the fuck out of here. I don't wanna deal with it right now." And that's all it was. And all of a sudden, someone's gone and told him that I've had a go at his mother, which I never even saw his mother. I don't even know what she looks like. And that just played.

Joe Rogan 10:01 Hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 10:01 I think they were trying to motivi- motivate him. I think they were just trying to, uh, push him a little bit extra, make it more personal. But that's the worst thing. You don't wanna take this, any combat sport personal-

Joe Rogan 10:11 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 10:11 ... 'cause as soon as you do, everything is slow. You, you, you lose your reactions-

Joe Rogan 10:15 Intense.

George Kambosos Jr. 10:15 ... you go into headhunting and you can see it.

Joe Rogan 10:17 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 10:17 He was headhunting and, you know, perfect for, it felt perfect for, for me that I, what I was coming to do.

Joe Rogan 10:22 Well, you maintained that composure through the entire 12-round fight too, which was incredible. Like, your, your precision, your movement, you never got ti- you never got lazy, you never just stood in front of him. You know, and even when you got caught in the tenth, you still bounced back beautifully in the 11th.

George Kambosos Jr. 10:39 Yeah. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 10:39 I mean, you were, you, you never, you didn't adjust, you didn't change anything. You know, you didn't like become hesitant.

George Kambosos Jr. 10:44 Yep. And, and that's a testament to my conditioning and how hard I train and how prepared I am for every single fight. And that's been my whole career. You know, from my pro debut to winning the undisputed championship, I have prepared for every opponent, given them respect, and prepared as a world championship fight. So, when I got put down in round 10, I was actually smiling. I was enjoying the, the whole adversity because this is what makes fights like this great. I mean, okay, now you're gonna show how great you are. You're gonna rise. And that was 1:45 in that round. I think Lopez finishes any other lightweight in the world at that stage. But, um, not this lightweight.

Joe Rogan 11:24 (laughs)

George Kambosos Jr. 11:24 You know, I had that, that, that inside me. And, you know, it's, it's crazy how bad-

Joe Rogan 11:29 How bad were you hurt by that right hand?

George Kambosos Jr. 11:31 I wasn't badly hurt. It was more like, uh, a flash knockdown. You know, kind of back of the ear, cut the ear.

Joe Rogan 11:37 Mm-hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 11:38 The equilibrium was a little bit out. But, um, it's gonna take a lot more than, than that shot to, to put me away. I come back to the, to the corner and the coaches were like, uh, "You all right? You okay?" I go, "Yeah, yeah, I'm good." And I started smiling. They go, "You sure? Why are you smiling for?" I said, "Because I made the mistake there. Now watch what I'm gonna do. Watch how great I'm gonna be." And I think round 11 was the best round of the fight. I literally busted him up. And then round 12 closed the show.

Joe Rogan 12:03 That cut that he had over his left eye was brutal.

George Kambosos Jr. 12:06 It was. It was, it was from a punch.

Joe Rogan 12:07 Yep.

George Kambosos Jr. 12:07 A beautiful shot-

Joe Rogan 12:08 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 12:08 ... split him open. My one f- was from a, a head clash, so, you know, they, they thought I couldn't punch. They thought I didn't have the, the, the power. Yeah.

Joe Rogan 12:16 Why do you think they thought that? Is that just wishful thinking? Did they just get overconfident?

George Kambosos Jr. 12:21 I think because my last two fights, when I fought, uh, Mickey Bay and Lee Selby, both former world champions, you know, I, I didn't knock them out, but these guys are veterans of the sport, guys that have been there before. So, they know how to, to move around the ring. Much more experienced than what I was at that stage and great exp- more experienced than what Lopez has. Um, I just, uh, had to box nice with them guys, you know, learn the tricks from the veterans. But they felt the power as well. So, I knew what I possessed, I knew what I had in, in, in the tank and, and in the bank. Um, and that's it, done my business against Lopez.

Joe Rogan 12:55 D- having b- trained with Manny Pacquiao had to be a huge asses- asset for you, because even though Bay was probably your biggest name opponent up until then-

George Kambosos Jr. 13:06 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 13:06 ... you know, you'd been ... How many rounds had you done with Manny?

George Kambosos Jr. 13:10 250 rounds.

Joe Rogan 13:11 Wow.

George Kambosos Jr. 13:11 Over three world total campaigns, so ...

Joe Rogan 13:13 Wow. So, it started with the Jeff Horn fight.

George Kambosos Jr. 13:16 It did, yeah. When, um, when Jeff got obviously the fight with Manny Pacquiao, I was in Los Angeles and, um, I was sparring his sparring, ex-sparring partners, uh, Jose Ramirez and, um, Ray Beltran. I was going five and five, and these guys are good fighters, former world champions. And, uh, Freddie come over and he goes, he goes, "You know, uh, Manny's got the Jeff Horn fight?" I said, "Yeah, I'm hearing about it." He goes, "Well, you're sparring his sparring partners. How would you like to go against your, your countryman and help Manny prepare?" I said, "Freddie, I'm all in." You know, I know he's my countryman, but this is an opportunity of a lifetime.

Joe Rogan 13:53 You can't g-

George Kambosos Jr. 13:53 Manny's my idol.

Joe Rogan 13:54 You can't pass that up.

George Kambosos Jr. 13:55 So, um, I had a fight, uh, bef- uh, a couple of weeks after the sparring sessions that, that I impressed and got the opportunity, so I still had to win that fight against, uh, Kamil Bala in, uh, New Zealand. And in between that fight, I got a really bad cut on my eye and the first thing that s- that went in my head was, "I've got to spar with Manny Pacquiao in a week and a half. Okay, now this cut might, might stop it." Uh, so I wasn't even thinking about the opponent or thinking about-

Joe Rogan 14:19 Wow.

George Kambosos Jr. 14:20 ... the fight. I knew I, I was gonna win this fight by any means, but I was thinking about my opportunity against Manny Pacquiao. But, you know, we got there.

Joe Rogan 14:27 Did you superglue it?

George Kambosos Jr. 14:29 Uh, we got the stitches.

Joe Rogan 14:30 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 14:30 A week after the stitches came out. I was putting so much vitamin E cream and every bit of, you know, theory that I could find on the internet to, to make sure-

Joe Rogan 14:38 (laughs)

George Kambosos Jr. 14:38 ... it closed up good and wasn't gonna give me an issue. And, uh, went into that first sparring session with Manny and it was okay with a, with a cut.

Joe Rogan 14:44 Did you know Jeff Horn?

George Kambosos Jr. 14:46 I did know Jeff, yeah.

Joe Rogan 14:47 Yeah?

George Kambosos Jr. 14:47 Yeah, we were in the amateurs together.

Joe Rogan 14:49 How did he feel about you training with Manny?

George Kambosos Jr. 14:50 Yeah, he wasn't happy at that stage.

Joe Rogan 14:52 (laughs)

George Kambosos Jr. 14:52 You know, but, um, yeah, he's a good guy. He's actually a good guy of the sport and at that stage he had come out and, and said, um, you know, "Why is he going against me? He's countryman. Why couldn't he give me a phone call?" And me being me, you know, I, I turned around and him being a school teacher and said, "I've never asked for permission, you know-

Joe Rogan 15:09 (laughs)

George Kambosos Jr. 15:10 ... from, from a school teacher ever. So I'm gonna, I'm gonna go do my thing with, with Pacquiao no matter what."

Joe Rogan 15:15 I think he's gotta understand that you had to. I mean-

George Kambosos Jr. 15:17 And I think he does.

Joe Rogan 15:18 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 15:18 I think he does now.

Joe Rogan 15:19 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 15:20 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 15:20 He had to. Um, and w- to be able to have an opportunity like that, to spar 250 rounds with one of the greatest of all time, I mean, what d- he won world titles in, what, eight divisions?

George Kambosos Jr. 15:30 Eight divisions.

Joe Rogan 15:31 Crazy.

George Kambosos Jr. 15:31 13 or 14 world titles.

Joe Rogan 15:33 Crazy.

George Kambosos Jr. 15:33 It, it will never be done again.

Joe Rogan 15:34 Crazy.

George Kambosos Jr. 15:35 And as much as, uh, you wanna see records broken and, you know, I wanna, I wanna break records, that man i- i- is a one of one.

Joe Rogan 15:43 He's a one of one.

George Kambosos Jr. 15:44 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 15:44 I mean, when he knocked down Thurman in th- that fight, I was like, "This is crazy."

George Kambosos Jr. 15:48 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 15:48 This guy's 40 years old and still can crack and still as fast as lightning.

George Kambosos Jr. 15:54 Yeah, the... Look, the, the power that he possesses, but it's not a thumping power, it's that explosive speed, that, that-

Joe Rogan 16:00 Mm-hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 16:00 ... that explosive power, the footwork, he gets in position and all of a sudden he's landed three, four, five shots and then he's angled off. A lot like I did in my fight against Lopez. You know, a lot of that, you know, sparring paid off and it did shape me. And I know he did put out a tweet as well saying that, "I hope the sparring we did, you know, helped you win this fight." And straight away.

Joe Rogan 16:19 That's amazing.

George Kambosos Jr. 16:19 And I was also excited. Yeah, he's a legend of the sport.

Joe Rogan 16:22 He is a legend and he's a, he's such an unusual guy. You know what's crazy about him is his calves.

George Kambosos Jr. 16:27 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 16:27 When you look at that-

George Kambosos Jr. 16:28 Massive.

Joe Rogan 16:28 They're cr- they're giant.

George Kambosos Jr. 16:30 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 16:30 They're like a thigh.

George Kambosos Jr. 16:31 And I know the reason why, uh, why because in General Santos, the mountains that he runs, and that steep hill, that's why they're so big, because he's always constantly running.

Joe Rogan 16:41 Ah.

George Kambosos Jr. 16:42 The mountains. And I was doing the mountain runs with him.

Joe Rogan 16:44 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 16:45 And my calves started getting bigger and bigger.

Joe Rogan 16:48 (laughs)

George Kambosos Jr. 16:48 But I understand, yeah, why his calves are huge. But he's always bouncing, he's always moving around.

Joe Rogan 16:52 Yes.

George Kambosos Jr. 16:53 You know, he'll bounce for, like, 20-something rounds. You know, he'll do his pads and he's jumping up and down and, you know, she really is, uh, uh, an unbelievable person, unbelievable athlete and, uh, you know, legend of the sport. I think as time progresses people are really gonna, you know, appreciate his greatness.

Joe Rogan 17:09 Yeah, and, and coming back from defeats, too. I mean, he's a guy that's had his downs.

George Kambosos Jr. 17:14 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 17:14 He's had his ups and his downs and, you know, he always ... I mean, he, but always smiling and always friendly to people. It's like, he's so admirable, uh, just as a human being.

George Kambosos Jr. 17:24 And it shows too that, um, defeats, you know ... I love how the UFC is, you know? Losses are losses.

Joe Rogan 17:31 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 17:32 You know, boxing has this, this stereotype where the zero is, is so important.

Joe Rogan 17:36 Everything. Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 17:36 I'm undefeated, but would you rath- rather see the best fighting the best?

Joe Rogan 17:41 Right.

George Kambosos Jr. 17:41 You know, you're gonna get competitive fights and great fights. But unfortunately in boxing it's not like that.

Joe Rogan 17:46 Well, the biggest draw in the sport is Canelo, and Canelo's not undefeated.

George Kambosos Jr. 17:50 Yeah. Yeah, that's right.

Joe Rogan 17:51 So that's one way of looking at it, you know, he lost to Floyd.

George Kambosos Jr. 17:53 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 17:54 Um, when ... You know, you know Manny is also, like, a world-class pool player.

George Kambosos Jr. 17:59 Well, he's got the pool, um, tables-

Joe Rogan 18:01 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 18:01 ... at his mansion, in his house.

Joe Rogan 18:02 He's really good.

George Kambosos Jr. 18:03 Yeah. So he's, yeah, non-stop-

Joe Rogan 18:04 Like, he plays like a professional.

George Kambosos Jr. 18:05 And he's, and he loves his basketball.

Joe Rogan 18:07 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 18:07 You should see his game.

Joe Rogan 18:07 Heard he's great at basketball too.

George Kambosos Jr. 18:08 Shooting threes, it's, it's unbelievable.

Joe Rogan 18:10 Wow. He's a serious athlete.

George Kambosos Jr. 18:11 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 18:12 Did, did training with him, um, w- did you make any changes to the way you approach fights or the way you prepare for fights after training with him?

George Kambosos Jr. 18:20 I did. I learned the one percenters, the, the extra bit to do the extra rounds.You know, usually before the sparring with Manny Pacquiao, you know, you do your, your eight rounds or your ten rounds of pads, and you're sparring, but that's it. You do your ab work and you finish. With him, he does his pad work, he does his sparring, but then he's on the bag, he's on the, uh, the shadow boxing. He's there doing the, the pad work. So the extra rounds just builds that, that conditioning and that stamina. And that's what I just found, that push more rounds, you know. If your body can keep going, push more and more. That's what I learned from him.

Joe Rogan 18:55 Is it a thing where you have to figure out what your body can do? 'Cause obviously over-training is an issue with fighters too.

George Kambosos Jr. 19:01 Yes.

Joe Rogan 19:01 Have you ever had a fight where you felt like you over-trained for it?

George Kambosos Jr. 19:03 Not, not, uh, as a professional. In the amateurs, yes, as a young amateur coming up, I did feel, uh, certain times where I over-trained. But the, I think the reason is as an amateur, you're fighting so constant.

Joe Rogan 19:14 Mm-hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 19:15 You know, you might have three fights in one week, and then you got two fights the week after. But in the professional ranks, I've always been very smart, got a good team around me, and I made sure that every preparation is, is pinpoint. And a lot of people were thinking I was gonna burn out for this fight and over-train because it was such a long, you know, preparation, nearly 10 months.

Joe Rogan 19:34 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 19:34 But, um, I said, "Look, I got a good team. I know what I'm doing. I know how my body feels." If I started to feel a little bit run down and, and burning out, I'd pull back, but, um, you're fighting for the biggest prize in boxing. How can you put your-

Joe Rogan 19:47 Right.

George Kambosos Jr. 19:47 ... your foot off the pedal?

Joe Rogan 19:48 Right.

George Kambosos Jr. 19:48 This is, this is everything. This is gonna change my life.

Joe Rogan 19:50 Well, you did it perfectly, um, in, as far as your preparation, because you were in tip-top shape in the 12th round. You know, you, you never lost any steam.

George Kambosos Jr. 19:58 Yep.

Joe Rogan 19:58 You never lost any endurance. And the way you bounced back from that knockdown in the 10th really showed what kind of conditioning-

George Kambosos Jr. 20:05 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 20:06 ... you had.

George Kambosos Jr. 20:06 And that, and that, I think that the conditioning there, especially the bounce back after being putting down, get- getting put down, is, it shows.

Joe Rogan 20:14 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 20:14 'Cause if, if I wasn't conditioned, I wouldn't be able to survive that f- that round.

Joe Rogan 20:18 Yeah. Um, when you think of, like, preparation for fights, you know, and you, you see guys like Manny Pacquiao, you see guys like Floyd Mayweather, you see guys that are just always in peak condition. That, that extra edge that they have, that seems to be the, the... I mean, that is, there's not one elite world-class fighter that you can say doesn't have that same kind of endurance and that same kind of discipline.

George Kambosos Jr. 20:46 Yeah, 100%. I think that the elite level guys, you know, you need to have it. If you don't have that conditioning, I don't think you would even get to that, that elite. I think you need to have that from a young, from a young age, from early in your professional career, to be able to have that work ethic, that relentless drive, you know, to have that conditioning, you know, to-

Joe Rogan 21:03 The only guy I could think that wasn't like that is James Toney.

George Kambosos Jr. 21:07 Yeah, he... But his defense too was, was unbelievable as well.

Joe Rogan 21:11 Amazing. Amazing.

George Kambosos Jr. 21:11 Like, defensively-

Joe Rogan 21:12 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 21:12 ... you know, you watch these guys and you think, "Wow, unbelievable." But the conditioning, yeah, was, was a problem for him.

Joe Rogan 21:18 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 21:18 You look at the guys like Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, you know, all, all the greats, to have that conditioning. Muhammad Ali, to do 15-round fights.

Joe Rogan 21:26 Mm-hmm. Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 21:26 I was even telling the commission, "Can we move it to 15 rounds?" That's how, you know, conditioned I was for the fight.

Joe Rogan 21:32 Yeah. Well, b- back then, you know, the 15-round fights, they weren't just 15-round fights. They also weighed-in the day of the fight-

George Kambosos Jr. 21:39 Yeah. Yep.

Joe Rogan 21:39 ... which is crazy.

George Kambosos Jr. 21:40 And they would have probably fought three weeks before that as well.

Joe Rogan 21:43 Mm-hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 21:43 You know, that, that, that's-

Joe Rogan 21:44 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 21:44 ... real fighters. That's real warriors.

Joe Rogan 21:46 Right. You go to the, back to the Sugar Ray Robinson days-

George Kambosos Jr. 21:48 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 21:48 ... and you see that 100 bu- bu-

George Kambosos Jr. 21:50 Yeah, like-

Joe Rogan 21:50 How many, how many different fights did he have? I think... What was Robinson's record at the, when he retired? I think it was close to 200 fights.

George Kambosos Jr. 21:56 200 fights. Yeah, it's unbelievable to... I've only had 20 and to think how the preparations are-

Joe Rogan 22:02 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 22:02 ... and what you put your body through and how sore you are after a fight, especially a 12-round fight. To think these guys would fight and then a week or a week and a half later, they're fighting again.

Joe Rogan 22:11 Mm-hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 22:12 Yeah, that's real warriors. That's, that's, that's gladiatorial stuff.

Joe Rogan 22:16 It really is crazy. And that's one of the things that the old-timers always point to when, when you try to make, uh, a judgment call of like who's the greatest of all time.

George Kambosos Jr. 22:23 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 22:24 They always point to Robinson. They're like, "Just the sheer amount..." I think he was some- something crazy like 90 and 0 before he lost-

George Kambosos Jr. 22:33 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 22:33 ... his first fight. 201. He lost to Joey Archer in '65. That was his 201st fight.

George Kambosos Jr. 22:41 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 22:41 That is crazy, man. That's three fights in a, in a w- Yeah. Three weeks, four weeks. Wow. And he was 44. Crazy.

George Kambosos Jr. 22:50 Yeah, that's, th- that there, just saying that is...

Joe Rogan 22:53 Unbelievable.

George Kambosos Jr. 22:54 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 22:54 I mean, just unbelievable. If you go way back, J- Jamie, go roll... I think it was, like, close to his 100th fight before he had his first loss.

George Kambosos Jr. 23:05 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 23:06 I think he g- I think he lost to LaMotta. Draw. Okay. What year, what number was that? So, these are, I guarantee these are all wins. So the draw was... Okay, 41. Okay, so it was 41 fights. So that was LaMotta. He lost to LaMotta and then came back and beat him. But just what an, what a record that guy had.

George Kambosos Jr. 23:26 It's incredible. Absolutely incredible. To, to think that, you know, this great had over 200 fights and would fight, you know, every couple weeks-

Joe Rogan 23:35 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 23:36 ... at 15-round fights. You know, it's, it's incredible.

Joe Rogan 23:39 But-

George Kambosos Jr. 23:40 That's, that's real fighters back then. I love that. I love-

Joe Rogan 23:42 They-

George Kambosos Jr. 23:42 ... the, the history of our sport.

Joe Rogan 23:44 Yeah, they certainly were real fighters, but i- it's also not the best way for your body-

George Kambosos Jr. 23:49 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 23:49 ... and your brain.

George Kambosos Jr. 23:50 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 23:50 Right?

George Kambosos Jr. 23:51 Because, you know, like, the punishment you take in a fight, you know, you need to be able to recover.

Joe Rogan 23:56 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 23:56 Now, you'd think that them fighting 201 fights or 202 fights that he had, and it'd be fighting every couple weeks-

Joe Rogan 24:04 Right.

George Kambosos Jr. 24:04 ... you know, that body is, is taking a lot of punishment, that brain.

Joe Rogan 24:08 I know. It's crazy.

George Kambosos Jr. 24:09 It's, uh, it's, it's gr-

Joe Rogan 24:09 It's, it's crazy. It's crazy to think of, you know, and the end of his life was not, wasn't the best.

George Kambosos Jr. 24:14 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 24:15 You know, when you, when you see guys like that that stay in too long, like Ali-

George Kambosos Jr. 24:19 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 24:19 ... like a lot of these guys, do you, do you have it mapped out when you're gonna exit the sport?

George Kambosos Jr. 24:25 Yeah, look...I've seen it time and time again. You know, even, even the great Manny Pacquiao, my good friend, that last fight that he had, it... I wanted to cry watching it because I know how great he is, I know what he's done. To see that fight just... The shots weren't coming off. The feet... Uh, the footwork wasn't there, the feet were slow.

Joe Rogan 24:43 But don't you think that fight was kinda... The whole thing was fucked because-

George Kambosos Jr. 24:46 Well, you... Yeah.

Joe Rogan 24:46 ... last-minute change of opponents?

George Kambosos Jr. 24:48 It was a difficult preparation because he prepared for Spence and all of a sudden-

Joe Rogan 24:51 Mm-hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 24:52 ... you know, Ugas-

Joe Rogan 24:53 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 24:53 ... you know, came in and-

Joe Rogan 24:54 Ugas is c- clever.

George Kambosos Jr. 24:55 He's a very good fighter. Very-

Joe Rogan 24:56 Very good fighter.

George Kambosos Jr. 24:57 Cuban-schooled, you know?

Joe Rogan 24:58 Mm-hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 24:58 They have that style that he has. And he can brawl too, he can fight. So, um, they got him, got him at a good time as well.

Joe Rogan 25:05 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 25:05 Everything, everything suited perfect for Ugas that night. But, um, when you see these other legends, you know, Roy Jones-

Joe Rogan 25:11 Mm-hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 25:11 ... um, Muhammad Ali-

Joe Rogan 25:12 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 25:13 ... they go that extra step. And it's hard for a fighter. As much as you wanna get out, you think about, "Okay, when can I get out?"

Joe Rogan 25:20 Right.

George Kambosos Jr. 25:20 You know, get as much as you can from the sport and win your championships and get out, but we're fighters, you know? Like I said this weekend when I was at the, uh, Haney-Diaz fight, I said, "I feel good. I feel like I'm fine this week. If someone pulls out, I'll fight."

Joe Rogan 25:34 (laughs)

George Kambosos Jr. 25:34 That's the kind of warrior and that battle mentality I have, so-

Joe Rogan 25:37 That's awesome.

George Kambosos Jr. 25:37 I, I, I, I don't ever wanna imagine-

Joe Rogan 25:39 How much weight do you cut?

George Kambosos Jr. 25:41 Uh, not much. 10 pounds. Yeah, I, I-

Joe Rogan 25:43 So how much, how many days do you need to do that and feel good?

George Kambosos Jr. 25:46 Naturally my bodyweight, m- it comes r- right load, um, the day before the weigh-in, you know, a pound and a half, two pounds in a hot bath and I, I'm there.

Joe Rogan 25:55 Oh, nothing.

George Kambosos Jr. 25:55 The weight is easy.

Joe Rogan 25:56 That's great.

George Kambosos Jr. 25:57 But I feel good. You know, I've been told that you should go to 130 before I won these championships, "You could be champion at 130." I said, "Yeah, I can be champion at 130. I, I would be champion at 130, but what for?" Like, uh, I'm 135-

Joe Rogan 26:08 You're champion at 135. Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 26:10 I'm champion at 135 and I feel good at 135. I feel strong at 135, I've got that extra bounce, that energy. I can eat throughout the weight cut, so-

Joe Rogan 26:18 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 26:19 You know, sometimes fighters wanna sacrifice, you know, that weight division and, a- and lose that extra bit, but they lose themselves in, in the actual battle, in the fight.

Joe Rogan 26:28 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 26:28 The fight becomes the weight cut. We've seen it time and time again.

Joe Rogan 26:31 Well, in the UFC it's a bigger problem-

George Kambosos Jr. 26:33 Yes, yep.

Joe Rogan 26:33 ... 'cause there's only eight weight classes.

George Kambosos Jr. 26:35 Yep.

Joe Rogan 26:35 It's, uh, the, the gaps between the weight classes are ridiculous.

George Kambosos Jr. 26:38 Well, you look at, um... I was looking at some photos of Conor McGregor-

Joe Rogan 26:42 Mm-hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 26:42 ... when he was fighting at that, uh-

Joe Rogan 26:43 45.

George Kambosos Jr. 26:44 ... 45.

Joe Rogan 26:45 Yeah, oof.

George Kambosos Jr. 26:45 And how skinny he was-

Joe Rogan 26:46 He looked like death.

George Kambosos Jr. 26:47 ... and looked brutal.

Joe Rogan 26:47 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 26:47 And even Khabib as well-

Joe Rogan 26:48 Mm-hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 26:49 ... the brutal weight cuts.

Joe Rogan 26:50 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 26:50 It's, it's incredible.

Joe Rogan 26:51 It's not good, you know? I mean, it's just, uh... Conor never lost, uh, he never d- never lost at 45 but also never, uh, missed weight.

George Kambosos Jr. 27:01 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 27:01 He made weight every time he tried at 45, but it was a rough one. When you would see him at the weigh-ins he looked like a skeleton.

George Kambosos Jr. 27:08 A- and that's when you see problem, uh, you know, big issues in fights and, and problems start, where, you know, brain damage and-

Joe Rogan 27:14 Mm-hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 27:14 ... and fighters unfortunately-

Joe Rogan 27:16 Yes.

George Kambosos Jr. 27:16 ... pass away.

Joe Rogan 27:17 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 27:17 And we've seen it in boxing because they lose all that weight, they're so dehydrated in the brain-

Joe Rogan 27:23 Mm-hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 27:23 ... where they don't hydrate properly as well, and all of a sudden, you know, you see it in the fights, they take brutal shots and unfortunately things happen in the fight. So, you know, I'd rather be feeling great, be hydrated, you know, I know that I'm going into this fight, you know, that there's gonna be no issues with that and, um, you know, feel good.

Joe Rogan 27:42 No, I think that's the right approach, to be healthy. I mean, and if you look at boxing, um, I think the vast majority of deaths occur when guys have caught weight.

George Kambosos Jr. 27:54 Yep.

Joe Rogan 27:54 Uh, I don't think there's very many deaths at all in the heavyweight division. I think the heavyweight division-

George Kambosos Jr. 27:58 No.

Joe Rogan 27:58 ... is unusual in that you get the biggest guys with the hardest punches, hardest punchers, and yet you have the least amount of deaths-

George Kambosos Jr. 28:04 The least, yeah.

Joe Rogan 28:04 ... because they're not cutting any weight.

George Kambosos Jr. 28:05 And it's scary, man.

Joe Rogan 28:06 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 28:06 It is really scary. Like, I've got three kids-

Joe Rogan 28:09 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 28:10 ... and I've got, I've got a life away from boxing.

Joe Rogan 28:11 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 28:12 So if you think of that when you go in there, you... your life is on the line, you know, and all of a sudden you're trying to make this weight.

Joe Rogan 28:19 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 28:20 Do you wanna dehydrate yourself and put yourself at more risk? Yeah, nah. I'd rather feel comfortable and feel good.

Joe Rogan 28:25 Well, it's that balancing act, right? You're trying to figure out what, what's the best approach. To be bigger and have-

George Kambosos Jr. 28:31 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 28:31 ... maybe a little bit more horsepower behind the punches, or to be healthy and then you have more, more gas tank, you can go longer-

George Kambosos Jr. 28:41 Yep.

Joe Rogan 28:41 ... you can push a faster pace, you're lighter on your feet. It's like-

George Kambosos Jr. 28:44 Well, there's a great example. My fight with Lopez.

Joe Rogan 28:46 Yes. I was gonna bring that up.

George Kambosos Jr. 28:47 He's the... He was the bigger man.

Joe Rogan 28:48 How much do you think he cuts?

George Kambosos Jr. 28:50 I think he cuts a fair bit.

Joe Rogan 28:51 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 28:51 You know, I think, um, probably 10 pounds, you know, a couple of days out from the fight.

Joe Rogan 28:56 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 28:57 But I know that he puts on a lot of size too. He was way bigger than me in that fight. He would have put on-

Joe Rogan 29:02 Yeah, he definitely looked bigger.

George Kambosos Jr. 29:03 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 29:03 He's thick.

George Kambosos Jr. 29:03 He would have put, put a lot more on. Um, but again-

Joe Rogan 29:06 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 29:06 ... it shows that, you know, it's not about the size o- of a fighter, you know?

Joe Rogan 29:10 Right.

George Kambosos Jr. 29:10 And the way I've always had that approach is, it's about the size of the heart, you know, how much you want it, the willpower, what you're ready to go through. And that's how I took into that fight.

Joe Rogan 29:18 Did you... Have you gone back and watched the fight?

George Kambosos Jr. 29:21 No.

Joe Rogan 29:21 You haven't?

George Kambosos Jr. 29:21 No, I have not watched the fight.

Joe Rogan 29:22 Interesting.

George Kambosos Jr. 29:23 And the reason, the reason being is when I get home, my fan- my, my, my friends and family, I wanna sit down, have a, uh, a watch party and just relive the moment with them.

Joe Rogan 29:33 Hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 29:33 That's why I don't wanna watch it. I think that's what I'm trying to achieve.

Joe Rogan 29:36 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 29:36 And people have been asking me, "Why have you not watched the fight?" Like, I'm trying to achieve to sit back, take myself away from, from the fight, and just watch it with, with everyone like it's live.

Joe Rogan 29:45 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 29:45 And that's what I'm trying to achieve with that.

Joe Rogan 29:47 Well, you're gonna enjoy it. (laughs)

George Kambosos Jr. 29:49 Oh, I know, yeah, well-

Joe Rogan 29:50 Spoiler alert-

George Kambosos Jr. 29:51 Yeah. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 29:51 ... it turns out good for you. (laughs)

George Kambosos Jr. 29:53 I hope so. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 29:54 Yeah, it does. The... What, what's interesting about it that I wanted to talk to you about this is the corner advice that he was getting.

George Kambosos Jr. 29:59 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 30:01 Uh, did you hear about any of that?

George Kambosos Jr. 30:03 I have heard about that-

Joe Rogan 30:03 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 30:03 ... but we knew that coming in. I knew that, you know, the corner that he has... You know, I don't wanna put anyone on the spot, but his father, you know, is... When you're getting information a- a- and you gotta, you gotta have trust in your corner, you know? My corner is unbelievable from, you know, my, my coaches, Javier Santino and Mick O'Callaghan, to my cutman, Mike Bazzle, to even my father was the fourth, Jimmy Kambosos, which I'll tell a funny story with that as well. Um-You know, you wanna have trust in your team because again, you could be taking a lot of punishment. And again, as, as much as you don't wanna stop the fight, I expect my corner to, to have that trust and, and to throw in the towel or stop the fight. 'Cause we wanna leave that ring and go back to our kids and, and, and family. Now, his corner, you know, they, they didn't do a right job. His cut man took forever to get in the ring. You know, his, his dad was giving him the wrong information. They had no game plan.

Joe Rogan 30:59 Yeah. The game plan was take him out.

George Kambosos Jr. 31:01 Yep. And that, that's not a game plan. We had a perfect game plan.

Joe Rogan 31:04 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 31:04 Round by round, we executed it round by round. You know, these guys had no game plan and that's, you know, that's on them. Yeah.

Joe Rogan 31:11 I think after he beat Lomachenko, they had this idea that he was the next superstar-

George Kambosos Jr. 31:15 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 31:15 ... and he was gonna steamroll you and steamroll everybody else. And because he's such a heavy puncher-

George Kambosos Jr. 31:21 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 31:22 ... and the way he fought, like with that super stiff jab with Lomachenko-

George Kambosos Jr. 31:27 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 31:27 ... and, like, real aggressive, and the fact that he was n- able to maintain that pace throughout the entire 12-round fight, and Lomachenko, I think it was in the 11th, he put it on him a little.

George Kambosos Jr. 31:35 Yeah. Yeah, he did.

Joe Rogan 31:35 He really got to him, and Lopez survived that, and then came back to win the 12th.

George Kambosos Jr. 31:41 I knew from that fight that the size difference between myself and Lomachenko, obviously, I'm a lot bigger, but my speed, my explosive power, the way I move and get in positions and throw, you know, punches and combinations that are, are quite awkward shots, shots that you don't see-

Joe Rogan 31:55 Mm-hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 31:56 ... I knew that I would have that advantage, you know, and I was never gonna wait. I was gonna come in there like I did in round one-

Joe Rogan 32:01 Yeah. Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 32:02 ... take the shots, be prepared to take shots, and obviously, you know, land my shots as well, and, and put him down, and show my, what, what I'm about and get my respect. But, um, that's on them. They, they, they made a, a big mistake there with, with the corner. Um, they did have a very good coach that they usually use, but they didn't have him-

Joe Rogan 32:20 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 32:20 ... for whatever reason, he wasn't there.

Joe Rogan 32:21 I was talking to my friend, uh, Radio Raheem today. We were talking, I was... He's a giant boxing fan.

George Kambosos Jr. 32:27 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 32:27 You know Radio.

George Kambosos Jr. 32:27 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 32:27 He does a lot of those, um, interviews on YouTube and just, he's a real expert.

George Kambosos Jr. 32:31 A real good guy too. Yeah.

Joe Rogan 32:32 Great guy. And we were talking, and, uh, he said something I, I wholeheartedly agree with. He said it's very rare that a father-son team works out-

George Kambosos Jr. 32:41 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 32:41 ... in terms of, like, f- trainer and boxer. It's just very rare.

George Kambosos Jr. 32:45 It, it's hard because that, again, that emotion.

Joe Rogan 32:47 Mm-hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 32:48 You know, and it's, it's your father and obviously the son, but it just, it's, it doesn't work out. You know, you see it time and time again.

Joe Rogan 32:55 Mm-hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 32:55 My father, you know, he was the fourth, you know, even that... His job was to, uh, put the, uh, the seat in the ring-

Joe Rogan 33:04 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 33:04 ... you know, and, uh, get a bit of ice, and that's it. Everything went a little bit crazy when I started bleeding and the cut man was, was screaming at my father, "Wipe him up! Wipe him up!" You know, and he was like, "Wait a minute, my job's only this," when we went through the pre-fight plan. So he was like, "Okay, let me get the tow- let me find a towel and wipe him up."

Joe Rogan 33:21 (laughs)

George Kambosos Jr. 33:21 But, um, you know, when you got the head coach being your father-

Joe Rogan 33:24 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 33:24 ... like they do, a lot of time doesn't work, you know. You need someone to be able to... You know, they're, that's the rules. That's, that's, that's what you gotta do.

Joe Rogan 33:31 Right.

George Kambosos Jr. 33:31 You gotta be able to, you know, respect, you know, the, the trainer, and I don't think they had that.

Joe Rogan 33:37 Yeah, I don't think it's impossible. I think it can be done-

George Kambosos Jr. 33:40 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 33:40 ... with the right personalities. But, uh, oftentimes the, the problem is, it seemed like in the Lopez corner, you know, his dad was so accustomed to Lopez just fucking everybody up-

George Kambosos Jr. 33:52 Yep.

Joe Rogan 33:52 ... that he thought that he was gonna wake up eventually and catch him.

George Kambosos Jr. 33:56 A- and catch me. Yeah.

Joe Rogan 33:57 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 33:58 I- i- it's for, for certain fighters, you know, it works, but when you come against a guy that was prepared to die in that ring, as scary it is, as it is, and as much as, you know, I trust my corner, I was honestly prepared to die in that ring. I told my wife before we went to the arena that I'm prepared to die tonight. If anything happens, you know, everything's for the kids and, and yourself. I'm, I'm here to win this fight by any means. That's, that's the kind of fighter... And the shots that I took in that, in that fight, you know, I think he takes out any other lightweight in the world. There were some big shots, but I just kept coming, you know, and, um, I know for a fact when he did put me round, down in round ten, and I got up and survived that round, and finished that round strong as well, and this is, this is a, like a Rocky 4 movie. He came back into that corner and he said it to his team and his, and his corner man that, "You know, this guy's made of steel. You know, I can't put a dent in him." And I know psychologically, that would've broken him as well. That's why that round 11 was so successful. That round 11, you know, really showed what, what I was about.

Joe Rogan 34:59 It really did. And the fact that you came out as hard in round 11 as you had in round one, you know, and maybe even harder because you had something to prove.

George Kambosos Jr. 35:08 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 35:08 I mean, you were letting him know that that knockdown is not how the rest of this fight is gonna go.

George Kambosos Jr. 35:13 No, this was, um, a testament to, to myself and, and how hard I prepared for this fight. I just wanted to show how great I am, especially in them last two rounds. I'd been put down, and again, in life you get put down sometimes. Things don't go the way y- y- you expect them to go, but you rise and you finish whatever you're trying to achieve, you know, with everything you have. You know, the, the thing is too that, you know, I lost my grandfather, you know, about two and a half months before the fight. I had my, my baby as well, my son, on the same day, and I know he was there with me, my grandfather.

Joe Rogan 35:45 So the day your grandfather died, your son was born?

George Kambosos Jr. 35:48 Yes.

Joe Rogan 35:48 Wow.

George Kambosos Jr. 35:48 Well, my son was born, and then, uh, six hours later my grandfather passed away.

Joe Rogan 35:53 Wow.

George Kambosos Jr. 35:53 George Kambosos, you know. So in that... When I got, uh, put down and I, and I just got up, honestly, I felt like he lifted me up. I didn't even realize, "I'm up again. I'm ready." You know, that, that there is, is...

Joe Rogan 36:06 Wow.

George Kambosos Jr. 36:07 Even in the dressing room, the Dazn cameras came out and had the, the flashlight, and we had the, the Aussie flag and the Greek flag, and we had them tied up pretty tight. Half of the Greek flag fell, fell and it came down, and all of a sudden I felt this touching presence on my shoulder. I thought, "Okay." I looked at my father again, "He's here. Yes, he is." And I knew at that moment that I will not be beat. I am winning this fight. You know, he's with me, and, uh, you know, I got the job done.

Joe Rogan 36:34 Now this, it, it originally was not with Dazn, right? It was originally a Triller fight.

George Kambosos Jr. 36:40 Yes, yeah.

Joe Rogan 36:40 What happened with all that?

George Kambosos Jr. 36:42 Look, everything was great until Lopez tested positive for COVID.

Joe Rogan 36:46 Mm.

George Kambosos Jr. 36:47 And then everything went, went downwards. You know, postponements, date changes, you know, venue changes.

Joe Rogan 36:52 Mm-hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 36:53 As a fighter, and again, Lopez as well, we are preparing for a fight. You know, you can't expect the fighter to be making weight, to have the s- the right sparring, the right preparation, and all of a sudden they said, "Okay, let's move it back again." It just doesn't-

Joe Rogan 37:06 Right.

George Kambosos Jr. 37:06 ... work that way. So-

Joe Rogan 37:07 They tried to move it back several weeks, right? Like, they, they-

George Kambosos Jr. 37:10 Um, yeah, originally we had, um, I think four or six different dates.

Joe Rogan 37:13 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 37:14 So we had, uh, certain days, September 11th we heard, then we heard about, uh, October 4th, then they went to October 5th, then, uh, they went to, uh, October 16th. So...

Joe Rogan 37:24 Were they changing because they, they were looking for a new venue? Was it, like, that there was competition, there was something else, uh, on television that night? Like, why were they doing that?

George Kambosos Jr. 37:34 A- all of 'em-

Joe Rogan 37:35 All of the above.

George Kambosos Jr. 37:35 All of 'em. There was, yeah, everything. Um-

Joe Rogan 37:37 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 37:37 ... there was certain NFL games, uh, there was the baseball games that clashed with the same night. Um, there was venues that they ch- all of a sudden they, they would change and go to another venue. So, look, that's, that's on them, you know, they missed out. Um, it's a learning curve for them, you know, there's no disrespect, you know, it is what it is. And, you know, they would've seen the fight. They would've, they would've seen the fight of the year and they missed out on it.

Joe Rogan 38:03 Well, they got the fight of the year when it was supposed to happen.

George Kambosos Jr. 38:05 Yes.

Joe Rogan 38:06 You know?

George Kambosos Jr. 38:06 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 38:07 Now, after the fight, it was crazy when he came over and said that he thought he won, and that he thought he won, how many did he say, what, nine to three or 10 to two? Is that what he said?

George Kambosos Jr. 38:17 Originally he said, uh, 11 to two, so-

Joe Rogan 38:20 Well, that doesn't make sense.

George Kambosos Jr. 38:20 ... he actually went, "It doesn't make sense." And honestly, I believe he was concussed.

Joe Rogan 38:24 Ah.

George Kambosos Jr. 38:24 I honestly believe he was concussed because not only he said 11 to two, but then he said, "I haven't been with my son for so long. He was only born a couple of days ago." So nothing made sense. I felt like he was concussed. That's why I said, "You're delusional."

Joe Rogan 38:36 Mm.

George Kambosos Jr. 38:37 Um, but I was so respectful. And again, I've got no, no anger to him. I'm, I'm not here to, to put him down or trash him. He's a young kid.

Joe Rogan 38:44 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 38:44 He lost all his belts. He got beaten up and, um-

Joe Rogan 38:47 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 38:47 ... you know?

Joe Rogan 38:48 Well, sometimes it happens when you get knocked down in the first round-

George Kambosos Jr. 38:50 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 38:51 ... and you fight the rest of the fight almost on autopilot.

George Kambosos Jr. 38:53 Yeah, yeah, concussed, yeah.

Joe Rogan 38:54 Yeah, I mean, that right hand was so clean.

George Kambosos Jr. 38:57 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 38:57 And when you watch his eyes roll back and he sits down and he got up and he's fighting off, easily he could've been concussed.

George Kambosos Jr. 39:02 Well, the way he looked at me too, and he thought, "Okay-"

Joe Rogan 39:05 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 39:05 "... what was that?"

Joe Rogan 39:06 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 39:07 "Shit, I'm in a fight now."

Joe Rogan 39:09 It was best.

George Kambosos Jr. 39:09 And honestly, I was just, I said, "Okay, forget the first round now."

Joe Rogan 39:13 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 39:13 Let's go, now from round two, now I wanna show you.

Joe Rogan 39:16 Well, what's interesting though is now they're talking about him moving up to 140, um, because the weight cut's too brutal. So they're coming up with a, a reason for why he lost.

George Kambosos Jr. 39:26 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 39:26 You know, they're saying that. And then on top of that there's this new thing that they're saying, that he had an esophageal tear.

George Kambosos Jr. 39:34 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 39:34 And that his lungs were filled up and his body cavity was filled up with air. And they were saying that he went into the fight like that, but when you go through a brutal fight like the one you two went through, and you, you hit him with... How many body shots-

George Kambosos Jr. 39:49 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 39:49 ... did you hit him with?

George Kambosos Jr. 39:50 A lot of body work.

Joe Rogan 39:51 A lot of body... And shots to the neck as well.

George Kambosos Jr. 39:54 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 39:54 I mean, you hit him everywhere.

George Kambosos Jr. 39:54 Everywhere.

Joe Rogan 39:55 So if you're hi- and like why would they assume that the tear was before the fight when you went through that brutal a fight? It's so crazy.

George Kambosos Jr. 40:04 Look, uh, again, very delusional.

Joe Rogan 40:06 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 40:07 And there was nothing before the fight when he was screaming, you know, and the, and the videos of him screaming at the post of me saying, "I'm gonna eat you."

Joe Rogan 40:15 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 40:15 "I'm gonna, I'm gonna rip you." Okay, you look good there. And leading up in the press conference.

Joe Rogan 40:20 Mm-hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 40:20 "You're gonna go to hospital." Everything, okay. And then after the fight you s- you, you thought you won-

Joe Rogan 40:25 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 40:25 ... 11 to two. You know, you're, you're there telling the world, and then you still got enough energy to, to, to do your back flip.

Joe Rogan 40:33 Right.

George Kambosos Jr. 40:33 He went around and done his back flip.

Joe Rogan 40:35 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 40:35 So-

Joe Rogan 40:35 With esophageal tear.

George Kambosos Jr. 40:36 With, with a, with a tear.

Joe Rogan 40:37 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 40:37 So if there was something there-

Joe Rogan 40:40 Right.

George Kambosos Jr. 40:40 ... you know, you wouldn't be screaming.

Joe Rogan 40:42 It's so-

George Kambosos Jr. 40:42 You wouldn't be doing back flips.

Joe Rogan 40:43 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 40:44 Yep.

Joe Rogan 40:44 It's so hard to tell 'cause, like, is the doctor exaggerating? Is it something that he sustained during the fight? Who knows?

George Kambosos Jr. 40:52 I wanna know who's the actual doctor. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 40:53 Yes.

George Kambosos Jr. 40:54 So...

Joe Rogan 40:54 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 40:54 Look, it is what it is. There's been a lot of excuses and, um-

Joe Rogan 40:58 He didn't-

George Kambosos Jr. 40:59 ... you know?

Joe Rogan 40:59 ... fight like a guy who was compromised-

George Kambosos Jr. 41:01 No.

Joe Rogan 41:01 ... like his, his endurance was compromised.

George Kambosos Jr. 41:02 No, because in round ten-

Joe Rogan 41:04 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 41:04 ... round ten, he, he landed a shot.

Joe Rogan 41:06 Exactly.

George Kambosos Jr. 41:06 He was still coming the whole night. He was still throwing punches.

Joe Rogan 41:08 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 41:09 But when you're getting, you know, beatly, you know, uh, attacked and sh- my shots are landing-

Joe Rogan 41:15 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 41:15 ... and the body work that I was landing, you know, and the placement of the shots, well, you're gonna feel all types of ways.

Joe Rogan 41:21 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 41:21 You know? So-

Joe Rogan 41:22 All kinds of damage.

George Kambosos Jr. 41:22 The, the, the funny thing is they, you know, they, Deontay Wilder, when he came out with his excuses, and they bashed him online about that.

Joe Rogan 41:33 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 41:33 They came out so vocal doing the same thing.

Joe Rogan 41:36 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 41:36 But look, the champion that I am, I respect them. You know, all the best to whatever they do in the future. If they wanna, you know, give me my praise, respect me, so be it. You know, the kind of person I am, through a mutual, you know, person that we both know, I sent a video to him, you know, wishing him all the best, you know, heal up with the cuts. This was before anything had come out.

Joe Rogan 41:58 Mm-hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 41:58 You know, I knew the face would be pretty, pretty damaged. Um, and just to keep going because you hear things like he doesn't wanna fight no more. Um, so, you know, he's a talented kid. He just beat Lomachenko, he knocked out Richard Commey.

Joe Rogan 42:10 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 42:10 He beat all these guys. Again, one loss doesn't define you. So the kind of person I am, I reached out. Did I receive anything back? No.

Joe Rogan 42:20 What are you gonna do? Um, with h- the thought of him moving up to 140 pounds, which is interesting 'cause, y- you know, post-fight when there's a fight like that, it takes a while for the dust to settle, especially when you, you know, he, he got hit with a lot of big shots-

George Kambosos Jr. 42:35 Yep.

Joe Rogan 42:35 ... and he's badly cut and battered. When the dust settles, if he chooses to go up to 140, do you see yourself ever fighting at 140?

George Kambosos Jr. 42:46 At this stage there's so much unfinished business at 135, and because I make the weight so, so good-You know, there's no vision of 140 right now.

Joe Rogan 42:55 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 42:55 But once I take all these guys out, the Haney's, Gervonta Davis, you know, Ryan Garcia, if he gets his act together and starts fighting, Lomachenko, that's my plan to take them all out. And even in the next fight, there will be no tune-up fight. It'll be straight in there again, against a big, big name. So, once we, uh, we handle that business, then we'll look at moving up, moving up to 140.

Joe Rogan 43:17 Did you watch Gervonta's fight?

George Kambosos Jr. 43:18 I was there.

Joe Rogan 43:19 Oh, were you there?

George Kambosos Jr. 43:20 I was there.

Joe Rogan 43:20 Oh, okay.

George Kambosos Jr. 43:20 You know, and the crazy thing was, you know, before the fight, they, they showed the cameras and, uh, they were showing all the basketball players there, and all of a sudden they showed me, and the applause that I got.

Joe Rogan 43:31 (laughs)

George Kambosos Jr. 43:31 I couldn't believe it. I thought, "This is unbelievable. This is crazy."

Joe Rogan 43:33 You're a star now, man. (laughs)

George Kambosos Jr. 43:35 It's growing, it's growing, but, um, you know, it's, it's been that... The way I looked at it was, you know, I was a, I was a rough-cut diamond, and I knew what I had.

Joe Rogan 43:43 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 43:44 My team knew what we had. And we just had to keep polishing it and keep shining, and now it's shining. And the world can see it, and they can see the person I am. You know, I'm a confident fighter, but outside of the ring, you know-

Joe Rogan 43:55 Well, the per-

George Kambosos Jr. 43:56 ... I am who I am.

Joe Rogan 43:56 Your performance was so good.

George Kambosos Jr. 43:58 Thank you.

Joe Rogan 43:58 Now, when you, um, see what happened with Lopez when he beat Lomachenko, it was a fr- kind of a similar thing.

George Kambosos Jr. 44:04 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 44:05 Right? Like, that made him. That, that's what made his star rise, and then you came along and-

George Kambosos Jr. 44:12 Took the star. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 44:12 Yeah, took the star. (laughs) You ruined the party. But, uh, Gerv- what do you think is the big fight in that division? Uh, is it Gervonta?

George Kambosos Jr. 44:21 I think, uh, Haney or, Haney or Tank.

Joe Rogan 44:25 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 44:25 They're, they're the big names.

Joe Rogan 44:26 Either one?

George Kambosos Jr. 44:26 Either one.

Joe Rogan 44:27 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 44:27 Now-

Joe Rogan 44:29 They're all fighting... It's really interesting because everyone's on kind of the same schedule.

George Kambosos Jr. 44:32 Yeah, which is fantastic, and this-

Joe Rogan 44:34 Yeah, everyone's fighting within a month. Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 44:35 We started it. I started the, the, uh, the big fight.

Joe Rogan 44:39 Mm-hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 44:39 You know, and I gave a fight of the year, then I was at the Haney fight, watching ringside, and we had our little, uh, uh, chat as well after the fight, with the, with the cameras there. Which was all respect, you know?

Joe Rogan 44:50 Mm-hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 44:51 And then I was at the, uh, Tank fight as well, and I know he walked past. He could see me there with, like, the, uh, the cameras and everyone, you know, trying to get interviews and he wanted nothing to do with it. So, um, we'll see now. You know, the ball's in, in my court. I get to pick, but also, they need to present now who wants to fight.

Joe Rogan 45:09 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 45:09 It's gotta be presented now.

Joe Rogan 45:11 Does, uh... Did they get a medical analysis of Gervonta's hand?

George Kambosos Jr. 45:15 Uh, I'm not sure yet. Yeah, so that, that there is probably gonna be an issue.

Joe Rogan 45:19 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 45:19 But, um, I hope that the hand is, is, is okay.

Joe Rogan 45:22 Yeah, hopefully it's not a break.

George Kambosos Jr. 45:23 Because if we do go with, with Tank, you know, I don't want no more excuses. I'm sick of hearing excuses from these guys.

Joe Rogan 45:28 (laughs) Yeah, well d- that's, to me... Well, either way, Haney's amazing too.

George Kambosos Jr. 45:33 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 45:33 It, it would, it'd be a fantastic fight.

George Kambosos Jr. 45:34 They're great fighters. They're great-

Joe Rogan 45:36 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 45:36 Lopez's a great fighter as well.

Joe Rogan 45:37 Yes, yes.

George Kambosos Jr. 45:38 You know, I'm so privileged to, to be the, the champion right now at this, you know, division. 135 pounds is the hardest division in the world.

Joe Rogan 45:45 It really is.

George Kambosos Jr. 45:46 So to be, to be ruling and the emperor of the division.

Joe Rogan 45:49 The emperor.

George Kambosos Jr. 45:49 Because you've got the four kings.

Joe Rogan 45:51 Yes.

George Kambosos Jr. 45:51 So...

Joe Rogan 45:51 Right. (laughs)

George Kambosos Jr. 45:52 We came out with a, with a cool little thing that they can be the four kings, but the emperor, you know, always and more.

Joe Rogan 45:57 I like it. Now, when, you know, you, you look at that division, I mean, the, it's arguable that that's the most stacked division in boxing.

George Kambosos Jr. 46:06 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 46:07 Would Lomachenko... Is he gonna drop down to 130 or is he gonna fight, he's gonna rem- remain at 135? 'Cause he's the smallest guy in the division, right?

George Kambosos Jr. 46:15 Yeah, he's the smallest guy. Obviously he's come from 126-

Joe Rogan 46:18 Mm-hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 46:19 ... 130, and I give him a lot of respect because he brought most of them belts to the Lopez fight.

Joe Rogan 46:25 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 46:25 So, you know, he does a, he does deserve a shot as well. About as, as well. He did lose to Lopez, so he's in the mix.

Joe Rogan 46:31 He's fighting soon, right? Who's his fight?

George Kambosos Jr. 46:33 He fought this weekend.

Joe Rogan 46:34 Oh, this weekend.

George Kambosos Jr. 46:34 Yeah, against Richard Commey, who-

Joe Rogan 46:35 Oh, right.

George Kambosos Jr. 46:36 ... was the one that, uh, Lopez knocked out in round two-

Joe Rogan 46:38 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 46:38 ... to capture his first title.

Joe Rogan 46:39 Okay, so he's fighting another 135-pound fight.

George Kambosos Jr. 46:42 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 46:42 And is this just a, um... Is it a 10-round or is it a 12-round?

George Kambosos Jr. 46:46 I believe it's a 12-round, a non-title fight.

Joe Rogan 46:48 Non-fight.

George Kambosos Jr. 46:48 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 46:48 Non-title fight. And 'cause I know that he had talked after the Lopez fight about possibly going back down to 130-

George Kambosos Jr. 46:55 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 46:55 ... but he was another one. He thought he won that fight.

George Kambosos Jr. 46:58 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 46:58 Which is crazy.

George Kambosos Jr. 46:59 No, uh, Lopez won that fight.

Joe Rogan 47:01 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 47:01 As much as the lead-up I was taking shots at Lopez and saying, "Oh, it was a close fight." You know? Or maybe a draw.

Joe Rogan 47:07 (inhales) My god, he won the fight.

George Kambosos Jr. 47:08 He was injured, whatever it was, but he did win the fight.

Joe Rogan 47:10 Yeah. I just... I mean, to, to deny that Lopez controlled most of the fight-

George Kambosos Jr. 47:16 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 47:16 ... seems to me to be kind of silly. And to hear it from Lomachenko was kind of surprising, I thought.

George Kambosos Jr. 47:21 And, and again too, he came out with, you know, the excuses which, it made him look worse-

Joe Rogan 47:25 Yes.

George Kambosos Jr. 47:25 ... because he put out the videos of the highlights and showed the world-

Joe Rogan 47:29 Mm-hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 47:29 ... "Look what I did," but the world saw.

Joe Rogan 47:31 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 47:31 See, I've always been that, you lose?

Joe Rogan 47:34 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 47:35 If it comes one day, take it on the chin. You beat me, you know, take it like a man.

Joe Rogan 47:40 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 47:40 These guys, they, they, they, they can't accept it.

Joe Rogan 47:42 I want a fighter to come out of a fight and then put the highlights of his opponent punching him in the face. (laughs)

George Kambosos Jr. 47:46 Yeah, punch the shit out of him. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 47:48 Nobody ever does that.

George Kambosos Jr. 47:49 No.

Joe Rogan 47:50 Like, we saw that part too, man.

George Kambosos Jr. 47:51 Yeah, well, look-

Joe Rogan 47:52 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 47:52 ... the world saw it.

Joe Rogan 47:52 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 47:52 And that's why with Lopez coming out and saying, "I won the fight. The whole world, whatever, saw it, blah, blah, blah." So, man, the whole world saw this.

Joe Rogan 48:00 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 48:01 You know? The arena, your own fans are booing you now.

Joe Rogan 48:03 Mm-hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 48:04 And that's a crazy, crazy thing too because when I walked inside that arena, I was getting booed like crazy.

Joe Rogan 48:10 Yeah, but that's the thing about Brooklyn, man. If you, if you're fighting a Brooklyn fighter-

George Kambosos Jr. 48:14 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 48:14 ... you know, you're gonna get booed. But if you beat him, they're gonna cheer you.

George Kambosos Jr. 48:17 They're gonna applaud, yeah.

Joe Rogan 48:17 They're gonna cheer you. You won them over.

George Kambosos Jr. 48:19 And that's what I did. I stood on that ring before I entered the, the ropes inside and I just stared at 'em like a gladiator.

Joe Rogan 48:25 (laughs)

George Kambosos Jr. 48:26 Like a, like a Roman gladiator, like a Spartan warrior. And I could see 'em booing, they're doing all types of stuff. I said, "Okay, you boo me now, but I tell you what, by the end of this fight, you're gonna applaud." And when that round 12 was done, I stood on the, uh, on the ropes and I'm bleeding and Eddie Hearn's there clapping like he couldn't believe it, like a little kid. And, um, I'm wiping the blood off my face and I'm showing the crowd and saying, "This is for you guys."

Joe Rogan 48:48 Wow.

George Kambosos Jr. 48:49 They're going crazy. That's... You know, I'm, I'm old school.

Joe Rogan 48:52 You talked about the difficulty in coming from Australia and getting over here and, and competing. Do you think that you'll set up your next training camp here and bring everybody over in advance? Would that make it easier if you're fighting here? Or do you think you could lure somebody to Australia for a big money fight?

George Kambosos Jr. 49:11 Yeah. Um-

Joe Rogan 49:11 Which, I mean, you'd probably sell out a fucking giant arena-

George Kambosos Jr. 49:15 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 49:15 ... in Australia right now, right?

George Kambosos Jr. 49:16 Australia is the plan.

Joe Rogan 49:17 Yeah?

George Kambosos Jr. 49:17 You know, I think I've, I've, I've earned that. I deserve that. I've been on the rise since 2017. And I'm-

Joe Rogan 49:23 Yeah. You need one at home, right?

George Kambosos Jr. 49:24 I need one at home. And look, you got the beautiful Marvel Stadium.

Joe Rogan 49:27 Mm-hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 49:27 They had Adesanya and Whittaker there.

Joe Rogan 49:29 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 49:30 You know, that there will be 70,000, 80,000 people.

Joe Rogan 49:32 (exhales)

George Kambosos Jr. 49:32 It'll be packed to the rafters. You know, um, Melbourne, Melbourne is fantastic because there's 600,000 Greeks. It's the second-biggest Greek population outside of Athens.

Joe Rogan 49:42 Really? Wow.

George Kambosos Jr. 49:42 So me being such a cr- a proud Greek-

Joe Rogan 49:45 Mm-hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 49:46 ... they are going nuts back home. They are smashing every plate they have.

Joe Rogan 49:49 (laughs)

George Kambosos Jr. 49:49 You know, it's been, been crazy. So, um, that is the plan. I know Haney's up for it. I know Lomachenko is up for it.

Joe Rogan 49:55 Mm-hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 49:55 Tank, I don't know if he wants to come to Australia. I don't even know if he can get into Australia, to be honest.

Joe Rogan 50:00 Why is that?

George Kambosos Jr. 50:00 Well, he has a lot of, uh, you know, certain charges on, on himself.

Joe Rogan 50:03 Oh, does he? Whoops.

George Kambosos Jr. 50:04 Um, so I don't know if he can get in there, but, um, we'll see, you know.

Joe Rogan 50:07 Yeah. Um, wh- do you have a preference, the fight that you think would be the bigger fight?

George Kambosos Jr. 50:12 All of them, yeah.

Joe Rogan 50:13 All of them?

George Kambosos Jr. 50:13 All of- it's just, again, two of them had, have had their, their fights. They show a lot because I was looking for excitement, entertainment. I feel like I put a lot of pressure-

Joe Rogan 50:22 Mm-hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 50:22 ... my presence just being there. And, and I, I kinda feel bad for the Haney, uh, Diaz fight week because when I rocked up into Vegas, it was all about me, you know? (laughs) And I kinda feel bad.

Joe Rogan 50:32 That's fine.

George Kambosos Jr. 50:32 And even, like, when they had their post-fight press conference, they wanted me in there, and I said, "No, I'm not going in there because it's their time. Let them enjoy their moment." Um...

Joe Rogan 50:39 I watched that fight for the first time today in the gym.

George Kambosos Jr. 50:42 Yeah, it was ... it, it was a good fight.

Joe Rogan 50:43 It was a very good fight.

George Kambosos Jr. 50:44 He's very sharp.

Joe Rogan 50:44 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 50:44 Haney, he boxes very nice.

Joe Rogan 50:45 And Diaz-

George Kambosos Jr. 50:46 But Diaz brought it too.

Joe Rogan 50:47 ... Diaz made him work. Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 50:48 And Diaz is not a, a natural 135-pounder. He's small. So when you put someone like mi- like me, who's fast and strong and a lot bigger, you know, it's, it's a different story.

Joe Rogan 50:58 Well, it, it's an exciting matchup with either one of those three.

George Kambosos Jr. 51:01 Yep, it really is.

Joe Rogan 51:02 The, the compelling thing about Lomachenko is Lomachenko's ... that defeat to Lopez was kinda shocking to a lot of people.

George Kambosos Jr. 51:09 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 51:09 And having you just beating Lopez, he has the opportunity to kinda get it back a little.

George Kambosos Jr. 51:15 He could get one back, yeah.

Joe Rogan 51:16 Yeah, if he could get you.

George Kambosos Jr. 51:17 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 51:17 And also, he's a giant name.

George Kambosos Jr. 51:19 Yeah. He, he really is. And again, you know, any one of these three guys-

Joe Rogan 51:23 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 51:23 ... in Australia at Marvel Stadium is gonna ... it's gonna be a, a sold-out attendance, you know?

Joe Rogan 51:27 Yeah. Um, I would say-

George Kambosos Jr. 51:29 It is a beautiful arena. That arena's-

Joe Rogan 51:30 Oh, yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 51:30 ... beautiful in the way it, it's, it's set where it's ... can be open for the undercard and the, the co-main, and then on the main event, it'd be closed.

Joe Rogan 51:40 Ah!

George Kambosos Jr. 51:40 I mean, I've already envisioned it. I've already-

Joe Rogan 51:41 And then you hear all the sound-

George Kambosos Jr. 51:42 I've already planned it.

Joe Rogan 51:42 ... even more 'cause it echoes-

George Kambosos Jr. 51:43 And then you hear the sound-

Joe Rogan 51:44 ... off the ceiling.

George Kambosos Jr. 51:44 ... and it's like a nighttime for the broadcast room in America.

Joe Rogan 51:46 Ah!

George Kambosos Jr. 51:47 The lighting, the lighting.

Joe Rogan 51:47 Listen, man, I would love to go.

George Kambosos Jr. 51:48 I gotta get you there. We gotta get you there.

Joe Rogan 51:50 I'd love to go, but that 16-hour flight can kiss my ass. (laughs)

George Kambosos Jr. 51:52 Yeah, it is hard. It's a ... And I got it tonight. I'm flying back home tonight.

Joe Rogan 51:56 Oof. I've done it a bunch of times. I did a bunch of UFC cards over there.

George Kambosos Jr. 51:59 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 51:59 It's rough. And you're just bewildered for weeks afterwards. You're, you're so confused. And I wanted to talk to you about that. Like, what is that like when you do your preparation and then you come over here for a fight, how much time do you have to give yourself?

George Kambosos Jr. 52:14 Usually, in my, my last fights, I've been here for eight weeks, ten weeks, you know. At points I'd bring my whole family, my kids over. Um, but for the start of this preparation, I was here for four months before he tested, uh, positive for COVID.

Joe Rogan 52:28 Hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 52:29 You know, I was here by myself, and then my, uh, father and my Australian coach came over, you know, so we had the preparation here, we're accustomed to the time difference. Everything was perfect. Then when he tested positive for COVID, I said, "I don't know how long he's gonna be ... till he's ready to get in the ... inside them ropes again."

Joe Rogan 52:46 Hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 52:46 This could take forever."

Joe Rogan 52:47 Right.

George Kambosos Jr. 52:47 "I can't just stop my life. I gotta get back home. I, I gotta go be with my kids. I've gotta be a father." So we flew back home. We done that bloody quarantine for two weeks, which is not easy, and then, um, you know, continued preparation in Australia. Then I flew back two and a half weeks out for this fight.

Joe Rogan 53:04 That, that's not a lot.

George Kambosos Jr. 53:05 So it wasn't a lot. But I knew because I've done this trip so many times that my body would be accustomed.

Joe Rogan 53:11 Is it harder to go back there or to come over here?

George Kambosos Jr. 53:14 It's harder to go back.

Joe Rogan 53:15 They say that.

George Kambosos Jr. 53:16 I f-

Joe Rogan 53:16 I've heard that, and someone should-

George Kambosos Jr. 53:18 I've, I've found-

Joe Rogan 53:18 ... explain that to me, and I don't understand it.

George Kambosos Jr. 53:20 Yeah. I've found that coming here, 'cause you don't lose any time-

Joe Rogan 53:23 Oh.

George Kambosos Jr. 53:23 ... you literally leave at 10 in the morning in Australia, and, uh, by the time you get here, it's still the same day, um, 6 or 7 in the morning, so it's just-

Joe Rogan 53:32 Which is fucking crazy.

George Kambosos Jr. 53:33 It's unbelievable.

Joe Rogan 53:34 How is everyone-

George Kambosos Jr. 53:34 It's like I could train (laughs) , I could train ... I've thought about it, this is how mad I am with my training. I go, "I could train just before I get on that flight, and then I can get to LA, and I can train again." So that means I've done two sessions and lost no time. (laughs) It's unbelievable.

Joe Rogan 53:48 Right. Yeah, that is crazy. And when you do that, do you try to train the moment you land just to kind of kill the-

George Kambosos Jr. 53:54 Straightaway.

Joe Rogan 53:55 Straightaway?

George Kambosos Jr. 53:55 Straightaway.

Joe Rogan 53:55 To kill the jet lag?

George Kambosos Jr. 53:56 I, I need to train. I need to sweat.

Joe Rogan 53:58 Mm-hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 53:58 You know, I go to bed, I have a good sleep, and then I'm up. I feel great.

Joe Rogan 54:02 That seems the o-

George Kambosos Jr. 54:03 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 54:03 ... the only way to settle it, is to ... a hard workout, right?

George Kambosos Jr. 54:06 Yeah. You need to have that hard workout. And I've told guys coming over, because I've done it so many times, I say, "As soon as you land, don't sleep. As much as you wanna sleep, do not sleep. Just do a light session. Just shadow box for, for three or four rounds. Go for a little jog. Just get something going."

Joe Rogan 54:21 Mm-hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 54:21 You know, your body can start to, to tick over. And it's crazy how the body is.

Joe Rogan 54:25 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 54:25 To think that a small workout like that can get you set and, you know, help with the, uh, you know, the, the jet lag.

Joe Rogan 54:32 Yeah, there's something about the circadian rhythm apparently that gets reset-

George Kambosos Jr. 54:36 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 54:36 ... by a brutal workout. Yeah, and they also say you try ... should try to not eat on the flight-

George Kambosos Jr. 54:42 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 54:42 ... which I've never done.

George Kambosos Jr. 54:43 Yeah, well the plane food, yeah.

Joe Rogan 54:45 I always eat. Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 54:45 I don't, I don't touch that anyway because that, that stuff is-

Joe Rogan 54:48 It's kinda sticky.

George Kambosos Jr. 54:48 That's brutal.

Joe Rogan 54:49 (laughs) Do you bring your own food?

George Kambosos Jr. 54:51 I bring, yeah, small snacks and, um-

Joe Rogan 54:53 Mm-hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 54:53 I tr- I hydrate a lot.

Joe Rogan 54:54 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 54:55 So...Coming over, you know, I was hydrating with, with the stuff that I take nonstop. You know, like, I had maybe three, four liters on that flight.

Joe Rogan 55:05 Oh, my God. You must be peeing every five minutes.

George Kambosos Jr. 55:07 And I was up and down. Once it hit-

Joe Rogan 55:08 (laughs)

George Kambosos Jr. 55:08 ... I was like, "Oh, man." And my Australian coach is looking at me, he goes-

Joe Rogan 55:12 Again? (laughs)

George Kambosos Jr. 55:13 "Far out. It was only like 10 minutes ago," but yeah.

Joe Rogan 55:15 That's funny.

George Kambosos Jr. 55:15 And the, the, uh, the people in the plane thinking, "Is this guy all right? Why does he keep going up and down to the toilet?"

Joe Rogan 55:20 Right. He's doing coke in the bathroom.

George Kambosos Jr. 55:21 Doing something, yeah. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 55:22 Are you, um, are you very strict with your diet?

George Kambosos Jr. 55:25 Very strict.

Joe Rogan 55:25 Yeah?

George Kambosos Jr. 55:26 Very strict. Um-

Joe Rogan 55:26 Like, what's, what's a, a normal meal like for you?

George Kambosos Jr. 55:29 You know, I have, uh, a high protein, so my chicken, my turkey, you know, uh, lean beef. And then I like my complex carbs, you know, my sweet potato, my pumpkin, you know, some brown rice, uh, some quinoa. And then from there, you know, my salad, my veggies. You know, that's it. Yeah. Clean, super clean.

Joe Rogan 55:48 Do you have, uh, someone prepare meals for you?

George Kambosos Jr. 55:51 Not really.

Joe Rogan 55:51 Oh.

George Kambosos Jr. 55:51 My wife, obviously when, when we're, we're at home together. But, um, when I'm here I'm doing most of it my- myself, and I enjoy it. You know, I love the aspect of the nutrition, you know, uh, eating right, getting the right fuel into your body. Because a lot of fighters, they train unbelievable, but all of a sudden they stuff up on the nutrition. They stuff up with the post weigh-in, you know, the right meals. Li- straight after the weigh-in I had my hydration and I had a meal ready to go.

Joe Rogan 56:18 Hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 56:18 My turkey, my avocado, you know, the good fats, the good protein, you know, to put all the good stuff back into me.

Joe Rogan 56:25 Now, have you worked with a nutrition to develop this meal plan or-

George Kambosos Jr. 56:29 Very early in, in, uh, in my career, I think I was still an amateur, I did go to a nutritionist, learn a couple facts, and then the rest was just my, my own study. Trial and error. You know, I'd sit there and, you know, I'd have a... I know I'd have a big sparring session, you know, on a certain date, and I'd work on things leading into that sparring session to see how I felt. So you can have a nutritionist, you can have a, a f- uh, dietician team, but it depends how your body feels, you know? What might work for you might not work for me, so...

Joe Rogan 56:57 Right.

George Kambosos Jr. 56:58 You know, I've, I've come to a point where I know exactly what I gotta do to make the weight, to have the right energy. But again, I'm always open to learn. That's why I study so much on it, and I'm always open to, to learn more and more.

Joe Rogan 57:09 And how did you come to turkey and chicken? Do you... Did you try seafood? Have you tried... Do you e- eat meat, like red meat?

George Kambosos Jr. 57:16 Yeah. I do, I eat meat. I eat, uh, red meat. Um, I just love turkey and chicken. The high protein about it, um, you know, it just sits good in my stomach. But as well a lot of prawns as well.

Joe Rogan 57:26 Prawns?

George Kambosos Jr. 57:27 Uh, yeah, because they are high protein-

Joe Rogan 57:29 Hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 57:29 ... uh, low calorie. You know, so that there, I was having a fair bit leading into this fight, and it was unbelievable with the weight. You know, best I've ever felt, felt. Easiest I've ever ma- ever made weight, and um-

Joe Rogan 57:40 What's like the heaviest you ever get?

George Kambosos Jr. 57:43 Probably 147. Yeah.

Joe Rogan 57:45 Oh, that's not bad at all.

George Kambosos Jr. 57:46 I checked my weight, uh, two days ago, and obviously I've been eating a little bit more now-

Joe Rogan 57:49 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 57:50 ... because I just had a, a big win.

Joe Rogan 57:51 Mm-hmm. (laughs)

George Kambosos Jr. 57:51 I think I was like 140. I was like 144.

Joe Rogan 57:54 Oh.

George Kambosos Jr. 57:54 Yeah, so like nine pounds.

Joe Rogan 57:55 Not bad.

George Kambosos Jr. 57:56 It's crazy. I could make the weight, uh... That's why I said to Eddie, "If you wanna put me on, pull one of these guys out -

Joe Rogan 58:01 You were really serious?

George Kambosos Jr. 58:02 Oh, serious.

Joe Rogan 58:03 (laughs)

George Kambosos Jr. 58:03 He goes, "You got stitches." I go, "Don't worry about the stitches. Let it open up. It makes the fight even better." (laughs)

Joe Rogan 58:07 (laughs) Ah, that's hilarious.

George Kambosos Jr. 58:08 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 58:09 Imagine if you actually did that. Imagine if like someone's opponent fell out and you had to step in on that short a notice.

George Kambosos Jr. 58:15 Imagine using the same fight shorts, they're full of blood.

Joe Rogan 58:18 (laughs) That would be perfect.

George Kambosos Jr. 58:19 Lopez's blood, my blood-

Joe Rogan 58:21 Oh, my God.

George Kambosos Jr. 58:21 ... whoever I was gonna fight there, blood.

Joe Rogan 58:23 Boy, that would be a great-

George Kambosos Jr. 58:23 And a whole lot. It'd be cool.

Joe Rogan 58:24 ... great story. And, you know, also maximize your time before you have to go back home.

George Kambosos Jr. 58:28 Yep. Well, you might as well. Yeah, you-

Joe Rogan 58:30 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 58:30 ... you've got that big trip, so if you can get two fights in-

Joe Rogan 58:33 Right.

George Kambosos Jr. 58:33 ... you can make the trip worth it. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 58:34 Yeah, for sure. Um, do you take any supplements, vitamins, anything like that?

George Kambosos Jr. 58:39 A lot of vitamins, yeah.

Joe Rogan 58:40 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 58:41 Uh, my glutamine, you know, my, my immune boosters, my vitamin Cs-

Joe Rogan 58:45 Mm-hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 58:45 ... my B12s, my zinc, um, fish oils. Yeah, all, all, all the good stuff.

Joe Rogan 58:50 And have you learned this from nutritionists or is this trial and error as well?

George Kambosos Jr. 58:53 No. Again, again, trial and error.

Joe Rogan 58:54 Maybe research online?

George Kambosos Jr. 58:55 Yeah. Research, trial and error.

Joe Rogan 58:56 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 58:57 You know, listen to, to other athletes, listen to, to other fighters, you know, see how it feels, introduce it. If it doesn't feel good, take it out.

Joe Rogan 59:05 So-

George Kambosos Jr. 59:05 If it feels good, leave it.

Joe Rogan 59:06 ... here you are now. You're, you've just come off this huge win. When you're preparing like, uh, for another fight, you, you know, it's gonna be a few months at least.

George Kambosos Jr. 59:17 Yep.

Joe Rogan 59:17 What do you do in the meantime? Do you go back to work and work on like, uh, technical aspects of your game? Do you do strength and conditioning? Do you do all the above? Like, what do you do in the downtime?

George Kambosos Jr. 59:27 A bit of everything.

Joe Rogan 59:28 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 59:29 You know, like, I... My, my whole the- uh, theory and thing about it is every day I gotta get better and better. You know, I was in the gym this morning before-

Joe Rogan 59:37 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 59:37 ... we were here. Um, I love it. I l- I love training. So the big thing now is to continue my strength conditioning, get a little bit bigger, get a little bit stronger. I have t- I have room and time to be able to get bigger. I make the weight very easy, but still keep my speed and my explosive, you know, snap and power, 'cause that is a big factor in my game. That's one thing I don't... I never wanna lose. Um, perfecting the, the, the, the punches a little bit more, you know, work on that, that shot that I landed on Lopez in round one. If I threw it maybe a little bit more with an angle, I might have put him to sleep at that moment. So we keep, keep working. There's so much more to do, you know. In that fight, the world might have thought that, that they've seen the best of, of Kambosos, but, you know, for me, I feel like that was 15%. There is so much more to go.

Joe Rogan 1:00:23 15?

George Kambosos Jr. 1:00:23 Yeah. Yeah. Honestly, there was moments in that fight where I said, "Come on, throw that shot, throw that shot," and they weren't coming off. So I know that there is a lot more. But once I sit down and watch the fight, I'll be able to, you know, analyze it even more and, and, and game plan, and you know, get the noteput out... no- notebook out and go through it all. Start-

Joe Rogan 1:00:40 It's...

George Kambosos Jr. 1:00:40 ... running mistakes.

Joe Rogan 1:00:40 It's interesting because that is the mentality that makes a true champion.

George Kambosos Jr. 1:00:44 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 1:00:44 Someone who's never satisfied with their performance and always wants to do better.

George Kambosos Jr. 1:00:47 Yeah, it is. I'm, I'm never content. You know, I just won the Undisputed Championship, you know, I have not even, you know, had one, one celebration drink. You know, I have, I have been so focused. I've been in Vegas, I've been in LA, I'm here now. Not one celebration drink.You know, that's, that's the kind of, uh, you know, fighter I am, and dedicated to this sport.

Joe Rogan 1:01:05 You, you got the Ring Magazine belt-

George Kambosos Jr. 1:01:08 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 1:01:08 ... which is, by many people, they think that that's probably, like, the most unbiased of the belts.

George Kambosos Jr. 1:01:14 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 1:01:14 Because if you look at the regulatory bodies, they all have their own mandatory challengers, and there's a lot of shenanigans that go on with that. Is ... Y- you know, so now you have the IBF, you have the WBO-

George Kambosos Jr. 1:01:27 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 1:01:27 ... and you have the Ring Magazine title?

George Kambosos Jr. 1:01:29 I have the IBF, yeah, the WBO, Ring Magazine, WBO super title, which is, you know, the, the best WBO belt you can get. And I also have the WBC franchise belt, which is, uh, to me, it's a super title as well. I know Haney has a WBC belt, and, um, you know, the way the WBC has, has set this up is you got a super champion, a guy who, uh, you know, cannot have any mandatories, can be able to maneuver, you know, and, and, and have options to do what they wanna do, which I like. Because the last thing you wanna do is be caught up in a mandatory where it doesn't make sense.

Joe Rogan 1:02:04 Mm-hmm.

George Kambosos Jr. 1:02:05 You know, I can maneuver where I have to, so ...

Joe Rogan 1:02:06 How'd you get to become a super champion? How's that work?

George Kambosos Jr. 1:02:09 Well, Lopez was the super champion.

Joe Rogan 1:02:10 Right. But-

George Kambosos Jr. 1:02:10 He had everything, so ...

Joe Rogan 1:02:11 But what does, how does one become a super champion? What is the, their, their s- ...

George Kambosos Jr. 1:02:16 I think it's, um, when you've defended the, the belt certain times, they elevate you to a, to a point. But-

Joe Rogan 1:02:21 Seems odd, right?

George Kambosos Jr. 1:02:22 It i- i- you know, I'm old-school. I'm old-school, and-

Joe Rogan 1:02:25 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 1:02:25 ... you know, I love all the belts. You know, they're, they're my, you know, they're my pride now, you know, they're like my kids now. It's like I've got five new kids. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 1:02:31 (laughs)

George Kambosos Jr. 1:02:32 You know, but, um, I'm old-school, and if they can eventually just have one champion-

Joe Rogan 1:02:37 Right.

George Kambosos Jr. 1:02:37 ... be recognized. And that Ring Magazine does do that.

Joe Rogan 1:02:40 Yeah, the Ring Magazine is-

George Kambosos Jr. 1:02:41 It does. It's that you're the lineal champion-

Joe Rogan 1:02:43 Yeah. Right.

George Kambosos Jr. 1:02:43 ... you're the number one in the division, and that's what I am right now. But, um, I love all the belts too. I respect that. And it looks so cool to have all these beautiful belts.

Joe Rogan 1:02:50 Oh, yeah. There's nothing better than watching a guy walk to the ring just showered in belts-

George Kambosos Jr. 1:02:54 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 1:02:54 ... when he wins. You know, you're j- draping them all over your-

George Kambosos Jr. 1:02:56 Everywhere, yeah.

Joe Rogan 1:02:57 Yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 1:02:57 The problem is now trying to get back home with all these belts.

Joe Rogan 1:03:00 (laughs)

George Kambosos Jr. 1:03:01 It's like, uh, it's a mission.

Joe Rogan 1:03:03 Do you have to check them? I would never check those fucking things.

George Kambosos Jr. 1:03:04 I'm not checking anything, no. No, I'm taking them with me on my-

Joe Rogan 1:03:07 (laughs)

George Kambosos Jr. 1:03:07 I'm boarding them with me.

Joe Rogan 1:03:08 Yeah, oh, yeah.

George Kambosos Jr. 1:03:09 When we get to the airport, and like even, uh, yesterday, you know, we get to the airport in LA, and as we're going through customs, they open them up, they check them. I go, "Okay. Okay, there's another one." Check it, then the bag comes, there's another one. "Look." "How many did you get?"

Joe Rogan 1:03:24 (laughs)

George Kambosos Jr. 1:03:24 "A fair few," so ... Well, that's, that's, that's, uh, part of my, um, entourage now, my belts.

Joe Rogan 1:03:30 Yeah, for sure.

George Kambosos Jr. 1:03:31 But I've, I've worked hard to, to get them, and, you know, like I said, this is, this is not the end. This is, uh, gonna be a long reign. It's 15% of what the world saw.

Joe Rogan 1:03:40 Well, enjoy it, and take it in, 'cause you, you deserve every minute of it.

George Kambosos Jr. 1:03:43 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 1:03:44 Ta- so y- you say you work on a little bit of everything, but talk me through, like, a, a typical day in training. Are you working out twice a day? Um, do you do strength and conditioning, roadwork? Like, what is, what's a normal day for you?

George Kambosos Jr. 1:03:58 Usually three sessions a day.

Joe Rogan 1:03:59 Three sessions?

George Kambosos Jr. 1:04:00 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 1:04:00 Yeah?

George Kambosos Jr. 1:04:00 That's how I feel, that's why I have that conditioning, you know, I have my strength and conditioning early in the morning.

Joe Rogan 1:04:05 And what would that consist of?

George Kambosos Jr. 1:04:07 Uh, all types of things, your resistance, your, your, your, your heavy, uh, lifts, you know, your, uh, uh, your load work, where you're going down on a certain count. Um, as you get closer to the fight, your resistant bands, you know, the speed work, the explosive power, um, your speed and agility work, part of that, that strength and conditioning cycle in the morning. And then, um, we go to our boxing in the afternoon, early afternoon, where you're doing your pad work, your sparring, um, your, your bag work, your game planning, your shadow boxing, everything that is involved, you know, to, to get to that level of the top. And then late at night, I'm running, I'm on the road, I'm doing my road work. I love the road work, especially at the end, because you've put in the hard work to, you know, get up again, and say, "Okay, I gotta do my road work now. Even that I'm, I'm fit, I'm ready. Push a little bit more." And my trainers have to hold me back sometimes. They're like, "Don't do it. You know, you're, you're, you're ready." But, you know, I know how my body feels, and I know what, what, what it takes to get to that next level. So, so three, yeah, three sessions a day is, is the usual.

Joe Rogan 1:05:12 Did you develop that schedule of three sessions a day?

George Kambosos Jr. 1:05:15 Um, it's just, again, trial and error. A lot of trial and error, so, you know, you, you ... As a young amateur, you know, you start off with one session a day, and you see the professionals in the, in the gym, when you're watching them, and, you know, idolize these guys. You know, you say, "Okay, they're training twice a day. I gotta do two sessions a day." So you get that, and then as you get to the, the next level, the elite