Lopez vs Kambosos Jr : A Match Worth to be Bet on
Boxing is one of the most common sports to put a bet on due to the intensity, the rivalry, the fierceness, the prestige, the one on one factor where anyone can win, and of course, the high stakes. The bigger the fights, the bigger the stakes, usually betting on https://smartbettingguide.com/crypto-sports-betting/ for a big match such as the upcoming Lopez-Kambosos Jr bout on August 14.
Here, we preview the championship clash:
Lopez Vs Kambosos : The Background
Teofimo Lopez vs George Kambosos Jr. is eagerly awaited by fight fans, in the States and across the pond in the UK, after the Australian bettered Brit Lee Selby in his last fight to land the title shot.
The lightweight clash is between unified WBA Super, IBF, WBO, lineal lightweight champion, Teófimo López, and IBF mandatory challenger, George Kambosos Jr.
The big match will be set to take place on August 14th, 2021, as part of Triller Fight Club, with champion López's unified titles to be challenged by the unbeaten Australian.
After Teofimo's career-best win against the Ukrainian two-time Olympic champion and history-making pound-for-pound star Vasyl Lomachenko, he was immdiatley challenged to a rematch, which however, he did not agree to. Known as 'The Takeover', the young 23-year-old was also called out by fellow American lightweight champ, Devin Haney, however, after defeating Briton Lee Selby last October in an IBF Final Eliminator contest, the Sydney resident was the one to earn his shot at the big time.
The Rivalries
Top Rank offered Teofimo Lopez the amount of 1.25 Million USD to face George Kambosos Jr, which was instantl refused. As no agreement could be reached, the fight went to purse bids. Finally, on February 25th, Triller Fight Club, an entertainment platform which pairs four quadrant entertainment with boxing, won the purse bid in the much larger amount of 6 million.
Back on April 16th, 2021, the big match was announced for June 5th, 2021 at first, which will be staged at Loan Depot Park (a baseball park), in Miami, Florida. The undercard also involves an exhibition match, a fight between an Irish professional boxer, Kevin McBride, and former undisputed heavyweight world champion, Evander Holyfield.
However, on May 12th, it was rescheduled for June 19th, 2021, with Evander Holyfield vs Kevin McBride being removed from the undercard itself, but it was once more pushed back again to August 14th, courtesy of Lopez testing positive for COVID-19 or Coronavirus. As the Miami Marlins have a game which is also scheduled on that exact day at Loan Depot park, a new venue will be announced later.
Who is Lopez?
Teófimo Lopez, who was born on July 30th, 1997 (23 years old), was born as Teofimo Andres Lopez Rivera Jr. He is the current unified world champion for the lightweight class. The Brooklyn-born Arkansas native has held the IBF belt since 2019, then added the WBA Super, WBO, and The Ring titles since defeating Vasyl Lomachenko in his last fight in 2020. As an amateur, Lopez also represented Honduras at the 2016 summer olympics, ending his time in a vest with an incredible record of 150-20.
In June this year, the talented youngster was ranked as the world's fifth best active boxer, pound for pound, by ESPN and the Boxing Writers Association of America; and seventh by The Ring Magazine, and 10th by the TBRB (Transnational Boxing Ranking Board). He is also ranked as the world's best active lightweight by The Ring Boxing Magazine, ESPN (Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) and the TBRB (Transnational Boxing Ranking Board) and second by BoxRec.
Who is Kambosos?
Now on to the challenger, 'Ferocious' George Kambosos Jr., who is undefeated in 19 contests.
Born on June 14th, 1993 (27 years old), the Australian has held the IBF Pan Pacific lightweight title since 4 years ago, in 2017. Managed by Peter Kahn, Kambosos Jr also previously held the Australian NSW (New South Wales), Australian, WBA-PABA (World Boxing Association-Pan Asian Boxing Association), and WBA Oceania lightweight titles.
The Postponed Fight, and the Quarrel
This is one of the most anticipated fights of the year. Ever since his crowning glory against Lomachenko, a modern great, fight fans have been eager to see the American back in action once more.#
There's a little bit of needle going into this, making it all the more interesting. George Kambosos Jr has blamed the postponements purely on Lopez, questioning his professionalism and actions that led to him being infected with COVID 19, which has affected not only them, but also everyone involved in the fight.
The 27-year-old challenger has promised fanst hat he will make him pay for everything. Lopez, in response, apologised to fight fans and admitted that he has disappointed many people and that he feels devastated. Lopez commented that he was sorry that he was infected with COVID-19, however he feels like he did the right thing so that no one got infected.
Seeing all of these quarrels, it is safe to say that both Lopez and Kambosos Jr have bragging rights to win in this fierce rivalry.
However, the champion, Teofomo Lopez, is the favourite to win.