By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing
IBF #1 lightweight George “Ferocious” Kambosos Jr (19-0, 10 KOs) told Fightnews.com® that he’s confident he’ll upset IBF, WBC, WBA, WBO lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez (16-0, 12 KOs) when they clash in Australia during May.
“If you don’t want to fight me – vacate the belt,” stated Kambosos. “He said he put an offer out. Bob Arum said that he’s a liar. He has no authority to send out contracts. Myself and Devin Haney have received nothing. We are hoping it will be all done in a couple of weeks and we’ll have a date for Kambosos vs. Lopez. We should have it done by February 6 which is the deadline the IBF ordered.
“I am in a fantastic position. I am the mandatory to Lopez. Mandatory is now my favorite word. I beat Lee Selby in his backyard to become mandatory. I beat Micky Bey in his hometown also. No other lightweight is doing that. Garcia, Haney, Davis and Lopez are American boys, so obviously they are going to promote their guys. No other lightweight in the world has been going into the other fighter’s backyard and doing what we have been doing – beating these former world champs.
“It was a great win by Lopez to beat Lomanchenko but he beat a guy who was “gun shy” for seven rounds. There are many holes in Lopez’ style. I said the same about Loma which proved correct. Lopez is very beatable. The Japanese boxer Masayoshi Nakatani showed in his fight with Lopez that he was not hurt at any point in their fight. We tried to fight Nakatani in Japan but they would not fight me. He didn’t want anything to do with us.
“Beating Lopez will not only make me the IBF champion but the WBO, WBC and WBA super champion. All this hard work has made it possible. I will show that Australian fighters can mix it up and beat the best in the world!”
It’s good to have dreams.
Think this one might turn out to be a nightmare, Kambosos didn’t look too good against Selby, and Lopez is on another level.
Yes, ever so true. Kambosos, like most fighters, often throw out words of confidence to make themselves marketable. In addition, these fighters often “ride” on the confidence wagon and talk a little smack because the level of opposition on their fight resumes (records) gives them the euphoric “high” they will whip anybody they face. Nothing new and sometimes gives the upcoming matchup some excitement.
your right jim
No way son, you will end flat on your back ! Don’t get me wrong i’m rooting for you but Lopez is on another level.. Loma would’ve beat him without his injurie but lost for multiple raisons.. And that alone explain what kind of fighter Lopez is !! A monster with power in both hands, who moves well, very skilled and very aggressiv; and i’m not talking about his ring IQ who is one of the best in the business today.. Good luck..
at least the Aussie will go out on his shield and fight until he gets Knocked out unlike Brits who always quit when the fight gets tough lol anyway Lopez should be looking for that big payday rematch with Loma not taking easy paydays
Lopez already said no rematch for Loma because hw refused to put a rematch clause in the contract. That means had Loma won, Lopez get no rematch. So why keep asking Lopez to do what Loma wouldn’t? Loma was cautious for 6-7 rounds and will do the same against a stronger and more confident Lopez. Doesn’t deserve rematch, let ‘the second coming of Ali’ fight his way back up.
The challenger never gets a rematch clause. He’s not giving a rematch because he knows he’ll lose. He should give a rematch out of thanks for the opportunity. That’s the heart of a champion. He doesn’t have one. Arum should make it happen.
This is a good fight. Kambosos will need to let his hands go a lot more than during the Selby fight where the lack of punch output could have cost him the decision. Would prefer a Loma rematch.
Kambosos will hang tough for possibly a few rounds .. but then it’s nap time. Good stay-busy fight for Lopez if he can’t get Haney next.
George is entitled to create all kinds of dreams in writing and in his mind, but in reality, Lopez will win by TKO. However, I am sure George will provide a spirited effort before his demise.
The least we should expect from Kamboso is what he is saying now. His statement about his achievements and quality as a contender are full of hyperbole. He barely defeated a washed up 37 years old Mickey Bey and Lee Selby, both by split decision, both pillow fisted. Who else of note is on his record?
Teofimo and his team must be more than happy to have Kamboso as an opponent, before facing the real top guys at 135. Lopez in less than 7 rounds in a very decen fight
Kambosos Jr does have a chin and moves forward a lot, If Lopez couldn’t KO Loma who gifted him 12 rounds to do so, i cant see him doing it to Jr.
I can’t see how he’s rated #1
Kambosos: I will beat Lopez
I totally expected George to say he was gonna lose.
Look heres the thing, fighters have taken easier steps to becoming a mandatory then what Kambosos Jr had done, the guy can only fight whats in front of him to get rated but by no means were they taxi drivers.
Im expecting Lopez to vacate the IBF title and go head hunting for Haney and Co due to bigger pay days. Lopez might beat Kambosos Jr all day long but Jr deserves his title fight.
Lopez isn’t the WBC champion. Please stop lying to the people! You guys are pathetic smh
Kambosos looked fairly ordinary against an even more ordinary Lee Selby. His win over his previous opponent the inactive Mickey Bey was nothing to get excited about either. Kambosos is just border line world class. Lopez is in the AA class.
Name one fucking Aussie who’s on the same level as US top fighters??? This dude is just another Anthony Mundine.
Keep hope alive!
This guy is actually getting Lopez to go down under? I don’t believe it.
What else do you expect him to say? He needs to express confidence in himself, even if no one else does so. I thought he lost to Selby, so I expect Lopez to dominate a fight against him. He just doesn’t let his hands go enough. He’ll lose to any of the top fighters at lightweight.