George Kambosos Jr (20-0, 10 KOs) caused one of the biggest upsets of 2021 with a well deserved split decision victory over previous Lightweight king Teofimo Lopez Jr (16-1 12 KOs) at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
After an incredible eight false starts to get the fight over the line, the two men entered the ring on Saturday night with the intention of backing up the promises given in the run-up.
Teofimo Lopez had told all who would listen of his intent on knocking out the Aussie in the night opener, In all fairness, he tried doing just that as he pressured/unloaded his arsenal only to find a very willing participant, not only that but one who dropped the champion on the seat of his pants.
Those believing the knockdown was in any way a fluke were very much mistaken, Kambosos was a man not to be denied, remaining in control of the contest, buckling Lopez further in the fourth and generally looking the cleaner puncher of the two men.
Lopez knew he needed something big to exit with his titles intact and exacted revenge for the knockdown in the first with one of his own in the tenth where for the first time the Australian looked to be on unsteady legs.
On his return upright, if Lopez thought he had Kambosos right where he wanted him, he was very much mistaken, Instead, he found a man infant of him who decided to fight fire with fire who rounded off the night’s work by taking the championship rounds as all eyes turned to the judges in the hope that we wouldn’t be gifted with a controversy of a winner, this time they did their job, well two of them did by rendering scores of 115-111, 115-112 Kambosos, 114-113 Lopez.
“I believed in myself, I backed myself,” Kambosos, 28, said afterwards. “I thought, ‘I’m going to hit him hard and put him down,’ and the fight changed off that. … I’m an unbelievable boxer. I can’t believe how good I boxed.”
Lopez was a little less intent to agree “I don’t care what anybody says, I won tonight. At the end of the day, I’ve been here, I’ve done it. Look, I’m not a sore loser. I take my wins like I take my losses”
“At the end of the day, I’m a true champion. I came out here, I did what I had to do, and I went out there and I did my best. … This is the takeover. We don’t stop; we keep coming.”
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