George Kambosos Jr. and Teofimo Lopez finally got into the ring on Saturday night and after many delays leading up to the contest, Kambosos earned a split decision victory to take Lopez’ lightweight titles. Kambosos (20-0, 10 KOs) dropped Lopez (16-1, 12 KOs) in the first round, then survived a 10th round knockdown in earning the victory.
Official scores were 115-111, 115-112 and 113-114 in favor of the new champion from Australia.
The wait was worth it for boxing fans as the action was fierce from the opening bell. Lopez came out, as promised, going for a first-round knockout. It didn’t work as Kambosos was too disciplined to get caught with the wild shots Lopez was throwing, but the now-former champion got tagged himself in the waning seconds with a right hand that put him on the canvas. Lopez got up with a smile on his face but Kambosos landed flush again just before the bell.
Good morning pic.twitter.com/Y4ScD4MbVQ
— Sᴡᴀɪɴ (@TheLiverPunch) November 28, 2021
Lopez’ corner showed after that tumultuous first round that they weren’t prepared for such a battle. Told to go out there and finish him in one breath, and to relax in the next, Teofimo went out in a more measured fashion, but Kambosos held his own in the exchanges, which must have been a surprise to Lopez. The challenger was able to take Lopez’ power shots and return fire, scoring repeatedly with a counter right hand.
The pattern continued for the next several rounds, with Lopez throwing the harder shots but doing little or no damage to Kambosos. All the while, Kambosos was getting a lot done with counter shots and his own attack, which featured a triple left hook at one point. It was clear that Kambosos was not intimidated in the least and was here to win.
Lopez got it going in round nine and continued in round 10, when he floored the challenger with a clubbing right as Kambosos ducked away. Lopez followed up but wasn’t able to finish or even score another knockdown.
The back-to-back rounds for Lopez made up a lot of ground on the scorecards as he had a three-point edge over rounds nine and 10, but he apparently took round 11 off, for whatever reason. Kambosos finished strong, taking the 11th and 12th, to earn the victory. Both men were marked, with Lopez having a serious cut above his left eye.
The crowd at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater that had cheered Lopez enthusiastically at the beginning of the fight booed loudly when he refused to accept defeat in the in-ring interview afterwards. Having coming out on the bad end of a decision after a battle like that, disappointment is understandable, but it sounded horrible. Kambosos made it even worse for Lopez by showing all the class and graciousness in the world while both were being interviewed.
"I won this fight" – Teófimo López 😮#LópezKambososJr pic.twitter.com/OTOfKkVl1N
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) November 28, 2021
No rematch clause for this one, and Lopez is likely moving up in weight anyway. One possible matchup for Kambosos would be WBC belt-holder Devin Haney.
