George Kambosos Jr stunned the boxing world when the magical Madison Square Garden served as the venue for another giant boxing match.
Two and a half years ago, Andy Ruiz defied odds and science to dethrone Anthony Joshua’s three-belt heavyweight title. Last night, inside MSG’s smaller Hulu Theater, mighty Kambosos assisted with his pre-match talk to see off Brooklyn’s Teofimo Lopez home with the championship after losing four world lightweight titles. in the first defense.
A fight with more delays than a soap opera wedding happened right from the opening bell. The champion had bad intentions clear on his face as he rushed out to hit the head of his IBF mandatory opponent. The New York Yankees may have been more impressed with his form because from a boxing point of view, it was the wildness and recklessness from a man who just over a year ago set himself apart from Vasiliy Lomachenko in Las Vegas.
The 5,000 spectators in attendance cried out in disbelief when Lopez was counterattacked and dropped his right hand in the remaining seconds of the first round. The 28-year-old Kambosos decided to use fire to fight fire and took everything Lopez could earn during the fight. In 10NS The Aussie round seemed to have been defeated at last when the champion landed with his heavy right hand to take out the light iron man. The challenge from below seemed to perish, but with will and bravery, he rose and survived for the remaining 100 seconds. And in the final two innings, it was the huge bet loser who knocked him out and returned to Lopez proving he won’t be turned down on a thrilling night for the sport and a night to remember for Australian boxing.
Excitement spilled out of Kambosos when the split verdict was announced. Sadly, the defeated Lopez announced he had won 10 rounds out of 12 scheduled innings in a shared unplanned post-match interview. None of that matters for now because of the fact that the lightweight division has a new king and both Lopez Jr and Sr (his father and coach) are now having to eat some modest pie of New York.
Main image: Matchroom Boxing
