How did George Kambosos Jr. beat Teofimo Lopez, and where do they go from here?

The fight of the year, this one is a clash that will be remembered for years to come. The two men faced off in their first ever encounter back on March 29 of 2013 at UFC 149. George Kambosos Jr., who was still undefeated, defeated Teofimo Lopez by split decision after five rounds of intense action. After the fight Georges said it felt great winning with his hometown crowd rooting him on! Today they are both retired from MMA but have not forgotten about each other and keep coming across each other online!

George Kambosos Jr. beat Teofimo Lopez in the first round of the fight, but now they are back to square one. Where do they go from here?

2:17 a.m. ET

• ESPN’s Mike Coppinger

Teofimo Lopez was on top of the world in New York.

Lopez was quickly and unanimously regarded as one of the top ten pound-for-pound fighters in the world after defeating Vasiliy Lomachenko in December 2020. Lopez was on the fast road to superstardom, with a huge personality to go along with his accomplishment.

After that, Lopez’s apparently simple championship defense against George Kambosos Jr. was postponed for the first time because to Lopez’s positive COVID test in June. Eight date changes and various legal threats occurred, resulting in the bout being rescheduled for November, with a new promoter and a new broadcast platform. Lopez, a Brooklyn native, was still on home ground at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater, where he was a 7-to-1 betting favorite.

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Kambosos, on the other hand, made sure the bout was well worth the wait when they eventually stepped into the ring on Saturday. He knocked out Lopez in the first round and withstood a knockdown in the tenth to pull off one of the year’s greatest shocks, flipping the loaded lightweight division on its head.

Kambosos, 28, said ESPN, “I put him on his ass.” “I immediately adjusted the fight as a result of it. He was a little reluctant…. We boxed quite well, and you know what I demonstrated? My boxing talents… I demonstrated what a genuine champion is by coming back to win the bout and bringing it to a conclusion in spectacular way.”

Lopez (16-1, 12 KOs) was already looking forward to what he anticipated would be a bumper year in 2022, with three bouts. He intended to start the year with a fight against undisputed 140-pound champion Josh Taylor, then face Devin Haney and Gervonta Davis.

Of course, none of those possible pairings were set in stone. Lopez’s future is more uncertain than ever in the wake of the unexpected setback.

Lopez, 24, claimed to have won ten rounds and was greeted with boos as he claimed to be weight-drained.

For the entirety of their lightweight championship bout, George Kambosos Jr. held Teofimo Lopez off balance. Matchroom/Ed Mulholland

Lopez, who entered the fight Saturday night as ESPN’s No. 7 pound-for-pound boxer, said, “I don’t care what anybody thinks, I won today.” “I’ve been here and done it, at the end of the day. Look, I’m not a bitter loser; I take my victories as seriously as I do my defeats. I’m a genuine champion at the end of the day. I came out here, did what I needed to do, and then went out there and gave it my all. This is the takeover: we’re not going to stop; we’re going to keep coming.”

Lopez will undoubtedly be out of the ring for some time, based on the manner his face was marked up and the slashes above both eyes. Lopez is expected to return to boxing through the tried-and-true comeback path, which includes a light touch (or two) before entering another significant bout. The next championship defense will almost certainly be at 140 pounds, but when that occurs is another story.

What was supposed to be a chance for Lopez to restore momentum after 13 months away from the ring ended up being a nightmare. Outside of the ring, he’s shown he’s tough, but he’s about to face his toughest challenge yet. What will he do after suffering his first professional defeat and being knocked from his throne as the unified world champion?

Kambosos, on the other hand, is venturing into unknown ground. No one gave him a chance, yet he was claimed to have won the lottery after winning a career-high prize of more than $1.5 million. In the star-studded lightweight class, at least one more large payday awaits the Australian, and it may be more. For Kambosos (20-0, 10 KOs), who competed for 12 rounds against a great fighter, this seemed to be far from a fluke.

Teofimo Lopez entered his lightweight championship defense against George Kambosos Jr. as a clear favorite, but it was evident from the time he was knocked down in Round 1 that the fight would be significantly more competitive. Matchroom/Ed Mulholland

The winner of Haney’s bout against Joseph Diaz Jr. next week is the most likely candidate. However, there is a chance that Davis and Ryan Garcia may meet in a high-profile game.

“There are a lot of possible avenues,” Kambosos’ promoter Lou DiBella told ESPN. “There are 130-pounders looking up at him, 135-pounders looking sideways at him, and 140-pounders looking down on him.” “He now reigns supreme over the whole continent of Australia. He is presently Australia’s number one athlete. He’ll be able to choose from a variety of options.”

Given what he did in defeating Lopez and his position as a broadcast free agent, Kambosos has a lot of options in terms of who he may fight, where it will take place, and how he can reap the benefits of capturing Lopez’s world championships.

“I believe he’ll sit back, take a break, and enjoy the triumph,” DiBella said. “Then we’ll find out how to have the largest battle we can.”

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George Kambosos Jr. is the current WBC lightweight champion, defeating Teofimo Lopez by unanimous decision in March of this year. This fight was contested at a catchweight of 144 pounds, and marked the first time that Lopez had been defeated by knockout since 2004. Reference: teofimo lopez vs lomachenko.

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