George Kambosos has waited more than a year for a moment he believes to be his destiny.
A shot at unbeaten lineal/WBA/IBF/WBO lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez (16-0, 12KOs) is finally a reality, with the oft-postponed championship clash to take place Saturday evening at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater in New York City. The bout has endured several postponements and even a platform switch from Triller Pay-Per-View to DAZN, though with the challenger’s view remaining the same on how the night ends.
“Victory by any means,” Kambosos insisted during a contentious final pre-fight press conference following months of tension between camps. “I’m taking all those belts back to Australia. I’ve been preparing like a man possessed, while he’s been enjoying himself, smoking his little hookah.
“He’s been enjoying his drinks and partying. Going to every event like a groupie. I’ve been in the trenches, preparing for war.”
Australia’s Kambosos (19-0, 10KOs) has been out of the ring since a twelve-round decision win over Lee Selby last Halloween in London. The win saw the unbeaten lightweight become the mandatory challenger for the IBF title that Brooklyn’s Lopez has held since December 2019. Lopez added the WBA/WBO belts two weeks prior to Kambosos’ win, soundly outpointing Vasiliy Lomachenko (15-2, 11KOs) last October 17 in Las Vegas to become the definitive lightweight champion.
Little love has been lost between champion and challenger, with Lopez and Kambosos nearly coming to blows at an April press conference to announce a scheduled June 5 showdown in Miami. The fight date has since changed no fewer than five times since then before finally landing in New York City during Thanksgiving weekend,
Naturally, Lopez is guaranteeing victory while he and his father/head trainer Teofimo Sr. have predicted a trip to the nearest hospital for Kambosos by fight’s end. Needless to say, the challenger wasn’t trying to hear any of that.
“You’re lying to yourself. You’re gonna have a heart attack when your son gets put to sleep. You’re gonna have a heart attack. You’re gonna have a cry,” Kambosos said to Teofimo Sr. before turning his attention to the defending champion. “I’m a f—–’ gorilla. I’m coming for war. I’m coming for all the belts.
“You just make weights and bring the belts with you. We’re here to take it. It’s just me and you in the ring. I’ve waited a long time.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox