As soon as he defeated Lee Selby to earn IBF mandatory status, unbeaten Australian warrior George Kambosos Junior called out unified lightweight king Teofimo Lopez.
And Kambosos said why not have the fight take place in a massive stadium in Australia? Well, according to a news piece from The Age, talks have begun for Lopez, who sensationally took the titles from Vasyl Lomachenko last month, to make the first defense of the 135-pound belts against IBF mandatory Kambosos.
Reportedly, the fight could happen in a stadium event in Oz in April or May of next year. Additionally, unbeaten 154-pound contender Tim Tszyu could feature on the card, thus making the event even bigger.
Bob Arum has, according to the article, begun talks in an attempt to make the fight. Kambosos says a fight between him and Lopez would be “bigger than Manny Pacquiao-Jeff Horn.”
“It’s a mega event. Hopefully, we can do 50,000 or 60,000 [fans] somewhere in Australia,” Kambosos said. “I think it’s bigger than Pacquiao-Horn.
“It makes so much business sense. It makes sense to maximize the opportunities in Australia, given how well we’ve coped with this terrible virus. It’s just a fantastic event.
“Pacquiao-Horn showed it can work. Everyone is on the same page, from us to Teofimo Lopez to his father to Bob Arum. Everybody is striving to make this happen for hopefully April next year.”
It was back in the summer of 2017 when Australian hero and huge underdog Jeff Horn won a hard-fought, controversial decision over Manny Pacquiao, and the fight did pull in many, many thousands of fans. But maybe Kambosos is right in that a fight between him and Lopez would be bigger.
In terms of who wins the fight, Kambosos, 19-0(10) has said a number of times how he is certain he has what it takes to beat Lopez.
Lopez, 16-0(12) spoke of the possibility of moving up in weight soon after his great win over Lomachenko, but now it seems the new champion will have at least one defense at 135; at least going by this article and if the fight can get made.
If it did happen next April, Lopez-Kambosos would be a massive moment in Australian boxing history. And the event would be absolutely epic for Australian fight fans if Kambosos pulled off the win.
