Many expect Teofimo Lopez Jr. will quickly execute George Kambosos Jr. on Saturday. Instead, Kambosos made history.
The Australian, who predicted he would give Lopez hell, overcame his American opponent to win a split decision and the undisputed lightweight championship at the Hulu Theater in Madison Square Garden in New York.
The Kambosos winning formula is not complicated. The new champion threw and landed more punches than Lopez, one of which brought him down in the opening round. And he took everything Lopez could land, including one that knocked him down in Round 10 but didn’t injure him badly enough to finish him off.
Kambosos (20-0, 10 KOs) made it clear that he had no chance to push with the big serve knocking out Lopez (16-1, 12 KOs) in the final seconds of Round 1.
Sydney’s product came out and kept the New Yorker ahead of the cards for the next six or seven rounds as Lopez seemed preoccupied with knocking out a knockout.
Lopez started rallying around Round 9, as he got busier and hit some of his biggest hits. That included a one-minute knock-out of Kambosos on the frame in Round 10.
However, Lopez couldn’t get the job done, Kambosos recovered and Aussie performed well in rounds 11 and 12 to win.
Two judges scored Kambosos, 115-111 and 115-112. The third scored 114-113 for Lopez, who fought through a bad cut above his left eye in the final few innings.
Boxing Junkie scored it 114-112 for the Kambosos, seven rounds with five left.
The win earned Kambosos all four 135-pound major titles, making him Australia’s first undisputed champion in the four-belt era. It was also one of – if not THE – the biggest win in Australian boxing history.
Lopez became an instant star when he overcame British weight class king Vasiliy Lomachenko to claim the title in his final bout, last October. Now, after failing on the first defense, he will have to rebuild.
