Error code: %{errorCode}
The night George Kambosos Jr scored his biggest victory
It was in the heart of New York City at the Theater at Madison Square Garden where the Australian George Kambosos Jr scored his biggest win.
Kambosos had come to the US from Australia with a 19-0 (10) record and big dreams. The one thing he was not carrying with him were any great hopes for an upset so far away from home.
He had fought in the US before; two years before, he had gone to Madison Square Garden to outpoint Mickey Bey on a split decision over ten rounds.
That had been the real Garden in 2019, not where he was fighting now. Now, he was at the Theater at Madison Square Garden, buried beneath the bowels of the main arena. It was the place where you were sent when you could not draw the thousands of people that might have gone to see you if you were a bigger name.
His opponent was familiar, though. They had been on that same card in 2019, but far apart in different fights.
- Read next | Insults and gestures exchanged between Richardson Hitchins and George Kambosos Jr in face-off ahead of bout
Teofimo Lopez had fought Richard Commey that night, stopping the man in the second round for the IBF lightweight title.
Lopez had not headlined that night. He had had to take a lower place on the card, watching later as Terence Crawford stopped Egidijus Kavaliauskas in nine rounds for the WBO welterweight championship.
But now, two years later, Kambosos and Lopez were facing each other, the undisputed lightweight championship on the line between the pair.
Lopez sneered at Kambosos. He sneered a lot. I’m going to knock this man out in one, he told the TV people. Don’t be late to your seat.
Kambosos nodded. He had seen his grandfather die and his child being born in the approach to the fight. There were bigger things in his life.
Lopez loaded up in the first round and threw right hand after right hand, determined to be the man to first defeat Kambosos. He wanted to move quickly through this Australian and, after that, start looking ahead – or up, to Crawford – for the bigger fights.
But then things changed – a right hand from Kambosos at the end of the first put Lopez down onto his back and all of that was suddenly new for Lopez because now the count was being administered for the first time over him.
Lopez got back to his feet and the pair went for each other for the next few rounds before Kambosos began to pull away.
Things were not as they were supposed to be.
The pair of them went into the eighth, then the ninth, then the tenth. And Kambosos carried on being ahead, even as he began to tire, the energy in his legs fading to embers.
Lopez slid around the ring, looking for openings. Kambosos realised before Lopez did that all he had to do was keep doing something and that would be enough.
Kambosos was ahead by the end of the ninth: 86-84, according to the TV people.
Blood began to trickle, then pour, from Lopez’s left eye. The red spattered the white shorts of Kambosos.
Things shifted again in the tenth, halfway through the round. Lopez knocked Kambosos down.
The Australian breathed and got back to his feet. He moved around to stay away. Lopez was unable to press to finish.
Then it was the last round, and the corners of both were telling them that they had to win. It was to be, to both, a victory pulled from defeat, or a defeat pulled from victory.
They finished strong. The fight finished strong.
The scorecards came back. 115-112, 115-111, 113-114. A split decision.
“He’s still undefeated…”
Lopez raised his arms. He had forgotten that both of them were undefeated.
“AND THE NEW…”
Lopez dropped his arms. He looked around him.
Kambosos began to celebrate. He hugged his team.
Afterwards, Kambosos went back to Australia where he faced Devin Haney twice to lose and then fail to regain his titles. Then he went back to the US, where he outscored Maxi Hughes by the distance between breaths to win the IBO lightweight title.
At home once more, Lomachenko stopped him in eleven rounds, but a win this part March over Jake Wylie in Sydney put him back in the mix.
And now, on Saturday, Kambosos faces Richardson Hitchins for the IBF 140lb title, back once more at the Theater at Madison Square Garden.
