George Kambosos — The New ‘Emperor’ at 135lbs
The long delayed bout between Teofimo Lopez and George Kambosos Jr. resulted in a “Ferocious” upset at Madison Square Garden
Close to one year ago, Teofimo Lopez entered the ring against pound-for-pound fighter Vasiliy Lomachenko as a sizeable underdog, yet came home with a cavalcade of world titles after an impressive unanimous decision. After shaking up the lightweight division with this upset win, Lopez finds himself in the story of yet another upset; just not on the right side.
On Saturday November 27th, in front of an initially booing but eventually appreciative crowd at Madison Square Garden, George Kambosos Jr. fought hard for 12 rounds and overcame adversity to win a split decision right in Lopez’ backyard.
A New Takeover from Down Under
The clash between Lopez and Kambosos has been long awaited, and has been one of the most frequently delayed title clashes in recent memory. Initially scheduled for June of this year in Miami, due to various promotional bungles and Lopez’ getting sick with COVID-19 at one point, the fight was rescheduled and relocated several times until it found its home this weekend. Both fighters thus entered with the most ring rust of their careers, but they still put on an incredible show.
Lopez started the bout aggressively, looking to showcase his power and speed and win respect early. The crowd loved what they were seeing in the first round, cheering Lopez on as he chased Kambosos and started tagging him with straight right hands. Predictions of an early KO were starting to seem quite likely until Kambosos shockingly set a new narrative with a perfect right hand counter, catching Lopez coming in and flooring him for the second time in his professional career. Lopez got up quickly and went right back in the fight, continuing to stay active and hunt Kambosos with high volume over the next couple of rounds.
From here on however, as Lopez’ output significantly decreased, Kambosos displayed a crafty and disciplined game plan. He stayed on the outside and tagged Lopez with several sharp left hands, particularly his crisp jabs and check hooks. Kambosos showed great skill on the backfoot and started to measure his distance perfectly, employing minimal movement to slip and avoid many of Lopez’ punches. The champion simply could not find any openings to exploit, and could not trap his challenger on the ropes with any significant danger or punishment. While Lopez occasionally nabbed a round with his high activity, Kambosos was getting the better of the exchanges and repeatedly catching Lopez from the outside, all while circling away from any real danger.
This all changed in Round 10, where Lopez brought the entire garden to life with a huge right that floored Kambosos as he was moving back. Kambosos got up, and then endured what was likely the most difficult round of his career as Lopez chased him with big punches across the ring. Kambosos used every trick to avoid serious damage and stay afloat, and to the surprise of many he made it back to his corner. Lopez did not do nearly enough to capitalize on his moment, and Kambosos came back strong over the last two rounds. While one judge scored it in favor of Lopez, who indeed had some impactful moments, the belts rightly transferred hands to the new champion.
The Roaring Lightweight Division
Sometimes we are made to wait very long terms for a bout, and it is exceedingly rare for them to feel this ‘worth it’ at the end. Both fighters fought their hearts out and overcame knockdowns to leave it all in the ring. Lopez will feel regret about being too reckless in the start and not approaching with a better game plan in the middle rounds, but he will have more opportunities down the line to mix up with others at 135, or perhaps move up to 140 as he has been speaking of for some time.
Kambosos, on the other hand, has made history for his country and in one fell swoop has become recognized for the threat he is. As the new self-proclaimed ‘emperor’ at 135, he seems eager to take on any of the big names touted around his weight class; of which many are returning to the ring in their own bouts over the next few weeks.
On December 4, Devin Haney and Jojo Diaz will fight for the single 135 belt Kambosos does not possess, the WBC title, and a following unification fight for an undisputed championship would be the hottest fight to make. Right after that on Dec 5, the powerful Gervonta “Tank” Davis returns against Isaac Cruz, the winner of which would present a tough fight against anyone in the division. And finally on December 11 another top 10 lightweight fighter Richard Commey takes on the man who just a year ago held most of Kambosos’ belts; Lomachenko. Loma has been clear about his desire to win back his straps, and it seems he cares little about which fighter holds them.
This is not to forget Lopez himself, who has much to learn from this outcome but remains with the tools to take down anyone at 135, should he decide to stay at the division. However right now the man to beat is George Kambosos Jr, who after his well deserved rest will have the world watching for his next move.
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