Teofimo Lopez doesn’t think George Kambosos Jr. will last all 12 rounds with Vasiliy Lomachenko.
The former unified lightweight champion predicted Lomachenko would dominate and ultimately stop Lopez’s rival when the three-division champion boxes Kambosos this spring in Kambosos’ home country of Australia. A deal for the Lomachenko-Kambosos bout for the vacant IBF lightweight title has been reached, but Lopez doesn’t anticipate that 12-round, 135-pound championship clash being all that competitive.
“Not only does he stop George Kambosos, he’s gonna make him look like an amateur that night,” Lopez told BoxingS cene. “Mark my words, because it’s different when you face Lomachenko. It is so much different, man. You’ve gotta be in there to really experience it. And it’s good, though. You know what? Kudos to George Kambosos. He’s gonna go and face one of the toughest fighters in that division, and that’s Vasiliy Lomachenko. Good for him.”
Lopez hopes to eventually avenge the only loss of his professional career – a 12-round, split-decision defeat to Kambosos in November 2021 in The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. By the time that rematch materializes, however, Lopez is sure Sydney’s Kambosos will have suffered his third defeat to Lomachenko.
The 30-year-old Kambosos (21-2, 10 KOs) has lost only a pair of one-sided, 12-round unanimous decisions to former undisputed lightweight champ Devin Haney (31-0, 15 KOs). The durable Kambosos went down in the 10th round when he opposed Lopez, whom Kambosos dropped during the opening round, but he has not been stopped inside the distance in 23 professional fights.
Kambosos boxed a southpaw in his last fight, England’s Maxi Hughes, and left the ring the winner of a controversial 12-round majority decision July 22 at Firelake Arena in Shawnee, Oklahoma. From Lopez’s perspective, there won’t be anything debatable about the outcome of Kambosos’ fight with the left-handed Lomachenko (17-3, 11 KOs), who will turn 36 next month.
“I definitely expect Loma to beat him,” Lopez said. “You know how pissed off Loma is after beating Haney, and not getting the undisputed championship titles? Trust me, that guy’s coming back with some vengeance. He’s gonna bring what he learned from the war into the boxing game, and that’s dangerous. And Lomachenko is already a dangerous fighter as it is. Trust me, I know. I faced him, and I faced him in his prime.
“So, this is a good turnaround. And all I can say is Vasiliy Lomachenko, I’ll get your get-back with [Devin] Haney and you get my get-back with George Kambosos. And we’ll do that together, my brother. Don’t worry, we’re gonna humble all these guys in our division.”
The Brooklyn-born, Las Vegas-based Lopez is preparing for his first defense of the WBO junior welterweight title. Lopez (19-1, 13 KOs), who upset Lomachenko by unanimous decision in October 2020 at MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas, is scheduled to meet Jamaine Ortiz (17-1-1, 8 KOs), of Worcester, Massachusetts, on February 8 in Las Vegas.
ESPN will televise Lopez-Ortiz as the main event of a doubleheader February 8 from Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino’s Michelob ULTRA Arena (10:30 p.m. ET; 7:30 p.m. PT). ESPN also will televise Lomachenko-Kambosos, assuming that deal gets finalized.
By Keith Idec