Undisputed lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez believes he’s going to make quick work of IBF mandatory George Kambosos Jr in their headliner on Triller pay-per-view on June 5th.
Although the fight date still hasn’t been made official, both Teofimo and his dad Teofimo Sr are saying June 5th is the date, and the location is the Marlins Stadium in Miami, Florida.
The way that Teofimo is talking, Kambosos (19-0, 10 KOs) is an easy mark, which is the opposite of what he’d been saying when he was justifying to the fans his decision to fight him rather than give former WBA/WBC/WBO champion Vasily Lomachenko a rematch.
Teofimo went on about how Kambosos Jr had earned his mandatory title shot by beating Lee Selby and that he refused to step aside to allow him to give Lomachenko a rematch.
However, Teofimo is unsure whether his management asked the International Boxing Federation if he could have an exception to face Lomachenko in a rematch.
If this fight does turn out to be an easy victory for Teofimo, 23, it’s going to show why he so badly wanted this fight rather than taking a risky rematch with Lomachenko.
In other words, Teofimo is playing it safe by choosing what he feels is a beatable mandatory in 27-year-old Kambosos.
Teofimo predicts early stoppage
“He (George Kambosos Jr.) is in front of me, he is my mandatory, and the whole thing you know really now is, you know, just going out there and finishing with a knockout,” said Teofimo Lopez to 1,2 podcast with Kendrick Johnson and James Lynch.
“But we see how this fight goes, man, but I don’t see it passing any past like six rounds. But you know, got to give the guy credit and see what he brings,” said Teofimo in predicting a knockout of Kambosos.
What could give Teofimo the early knockout that he’s predicting is his size advantage. He walks around close to 160, and that’s without fat.
Teofimo is a huge fighter for the 135-lb division in terms of weight, and he’s far heavier than Kambosos, who is a guy that weighs in the low 140s.
Kambosos Jr says h’s currently weighing around 142 lbs, and he’s two months away from the fight with Teofimo. With the size advantage that Teo has over Kambosos, it might be a letdown if he doesn’t knock him out.
We’re talking about fighters that really should be in different divisions. With Teofimo’s size, he should be campaigning as a 140 to 147-pounder.
You can’t say the same thing about the smaller Kambosos, who arguably should be fighting at 130 [super featherweight].
On fight night, Teofimo will likely be enjoying a 10 to 15-pound weight advantage over Kambosos.
Kambosos says early stoppage possible
“Speed, power, and explosive movements, anything can happen,” said Kambosos to Fighthype. “I might even take you out in three. I’m going to have great movement, and I’ll be very fast.
“My speed is enormous. I’m a volume puncher, but I’m a fast volume puncher. There’s a lot to my game, but let them prepare the way they [Team Lopez] want to prepare for this fight.
“I’m in shape; I’m ready to fight. I’m already in that mental state; I’m already in that savage mode. 142, 143, something like that,” said Kambosos when asked how much he weighs right now.
“I’m eating well, I’m clean, I’m ripped. I feel good, I’m in shape. I’m a savage right now, I’m a warrior, and a warrior is always training, I’m leveling up. That’s why I’m in this position because I put in the hard work.
“I’ve been in there with the world champions,” said Kambosos. “I sparred five rounds with Ray Beltran, and then I sparred five rounds with Jose Ramirez. It was great sparring. I proved my worth.
“Not only in sparring but in my last two fights as well. I’m ready for this moment,” said Kambosos.
It’s doubtful that Kambosos will be able to knockout Teofimo, and it might be dangerous for him to try.
Kambosos failed to knock out his last two opponents Lee Selby and Mickey Bey, and he barely beat both by a pair of split decisions.
