George Kambosos Jr. just shocked the world once more by dethroning Teofimo Lopez. He was a 13 to 1 underdog going in, which practically means that he had no chance of winning the fight. It was even a shock with odd-makers that he went past the early rounds; Kambosos even knocked Lopez down in the first round.
In the early parts of the fight, Lopez had a super aggressive style where he was headhunting and throwing power punches. Meanwhile, Kambosos was fighting technically, reading Lopez and countering. The patience and composure of Kambosos paid dividends as he landed a knockdown in the first round that may have changed the momentum of the fight.
It was shocking, but Lopez grazed it off and went back to his corner. Lopez recovered and won some rounds, but Kambosos had gained confidence and did not look for the knockout but instead won the later rounds. Meanwhile, Lopez was loading up as if he was in a hurry to finish the night.
Kambosos had the better game plan, and his jab was so powerful that it caused massive damage to Lopez’s face. It even led to a brutal cut just above the eye. Another takeaway was the corner’s advice; Lopez Sr was not giving honest advice on adjustments but was saying to knock Kambosos out while Kambosos’s corner was giving strategies on where to go and what punch to set.
Although it was a back and forth from both fighters, In the 10th round, Lopez finally landed his power punch combo that knocked Kambosos down, many thought it would lead to a finish, but Kambosos showed tremendous heart and recovered well. He even went on to win the last two rounds.
The judges gave it a split decision, with two judges giving it to George Kambosos Jr as the new unified champion. In the post-fight interview, Lopez said that he thought that he won decisively, Kambosos was willing to do a rematch at Australia. When Lopez was asked whether he wanted to have a rematch, he said he wanted to take time off and added that the weight cut was hard for him. It might be an indication that he plans to move up.
