Teofimo Lopez vs George Kambosos Jr - was riling the champion a terrible mistake?

Good things come to those who wait but George Kambosos Jr may no longer agree with that old adage come Sunday morning. Out of the ring for over a year, the IBF’s mandatory challenger at lightweight returns with the toughest possible test on Saturday night at New York’s famous Madison Square Garden (the Theatre, to be specific) when he bids to dethrone fellow unbeaten Teofimo Lopez, who defends the WBA and WBO straps to sit alongside his IBF title.

Their fight will follow a fiery weigh-in, which succeeded a fractious press conference, which itself came hot on the heels of an intense media event wherein Kambosos’ father slapped his verbose counterpart, Teofimo Sr. All of which grew from months of mutual enmity, as the showdown bounced from Triller to Matchroom and was nearly cancelled after Teofimo Jr tested positive for Covid, scuppering the original June 19 date.

Lopez has been inactive for 13 months himself, squandering much of the momentum garnered from a star-making points victory over pound-for-pound contender Vasyl Lomachenko, and the crushing early stoppage of usually durable Richard Commey before that. Already a vaunted contender, in two bouts Lopez graduated to one of the very best fighters in the sport, and is still 24 years old. Fast, powerful and huge for the weight, this could well be his last contest at 135lbs.

As for Kambosos, he has not done a lot wrong en route to his first world title chance. The Australian has actually competed as a pro three times more than Lopez, but at a significantly lower level. He too gained traction from his two most recent outings, but the points wins over an ageing Mickey Bey and talented former featherweight ruler Lee Selby were more workmanlike than explosive. An aggressive box-fighter, George may want to trade with the robust Lopez at close quarters, at least until he does so for the first time.

The value for the sporting minded will probably be centred around when the fight ends, rather than whose hand is raised. Lopez is averaging as a -1000 betting favorote, whereas Kamosos is a +600 underdog. If you are wagering from NY, this New York sports betting guide has a list of online sportsbooks and latest on the Empire State that pertains to wagering online.

Lopez has the best of both worlds. He’s a fresh, physically gifted youngster but with the ring IQ and poise of a veteran. He can likely choose to make this fight easy or challenging but the mere fact he can make that call – and Kambosos cannot – tells you all you need to know, even in a year that has seen several major upsets.

Kambosos is 28 and his passionate and unforced self-belief have helped to sell a fight which may look like a bit of a gimme on paper, especially with fans eager to see Lopez face bigger names like Devin Haney, Tank Davis and Josh Taylor. But the Aussie’s fearless and provocative pre-fight behaviour – plus what it may well provoke in his opponent – almost guarantees an exciting spectacle, if not a particularly lengthy one.