Press Release
Unified Lightweight Champion Teofimo Lopez (16-0, 12 KOs) will finally make his maiden title defense of his WBA, IBF, WBO, and The Ring belts against George Kambosos Jr (19-0, 10 KOs) at Hulu Theater, Madison Square Garden, New York, on Saturday, November 27 – live worldwide and exclusively on DAZN.
Lopez’s first fight since upsetting former champion Vasiliy Lomachenko in October 2020, the Brooklyn native beat the Ukrainian by unanimous decision, taking with him the prized straps and unified crown. Australian Kambosos Jr. comes into the fight as the mandatory IBF challenger, also boasting a perfect record and coming off the back of a split decision win against former IBF Featherweight Champion Lee Selby.
"The time has finally come!" said López. "It has been a long wait for Team Takeover. We’ve been in the zone for six months and counting but we’re pleased to be able to finally get this fight on DAZN! The Takeover will show the world once again why we are called 'The People’s Champ'."
"It has been a long time coming, I have been patient but ready and I have continued to perfect my craft, leaving no stone unturned to be victorious and win all the belts," said Kambosos Jr. "I’m very excited to be headlining my biggest fight of my life on another great Matchroom card against Teofimo López after earning this opportunity last year by becoming the IBF mandatory and world number 1 on another great Matchroom show. I know they will give this fight the respect it deserves and I will shock the world and be crowned World Champion on November 27 in New York City.”
“I am delighted to be bringing Lopez vs. Kambosas to DAZN and Madison Square Garden,” said Matchroom Sport Chairman Eddie Hearn. “This rivalry has been cooking for a long time and now we finally get to see them put it to bed in the Big Apple.
“Teofimo is one of the big young stars in the sport but George is a hungry proud Aussie who knows that this is the chance to put his name amongst the elite of the game.
“The Lightweight division will catch fire once again at the end of 2021 with Devin Haney set to defend his WBC crown in December on DAZN after Teofimo and George tangle; the winter schedule on DAZN is unrivaled and this fight is one of the best out there at the end of this year.”
“We’re thrilled to add this incredible Lightweight clash to our fall fight schedule to close out a busy 2021,” said Joseph Markowski, DAZN EVP. “López is a superstar in the sport of boxing and I’m sure will treat DAZN subscribers worldwide with a magnificent performance on the night. Kambosos is a tough competitor and a real test for the champion. This is one of the hottest divisions of the sport and both men will undoubtedly leave it all in the ring on November 27 and give fight fans globally a night to remember.”
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Triller Press Release
Continuing their extraordinary run of outstanding, once-in-a-lifetime events, TRILLER FIGHT CLUB has announced ‘THE TAKEOVER’ TEOFIMO LOPEZ, (16-0, 12 KOs), fighting out of Brooklyn, NY, will defend his UNDISPUTED Lightweight World Titles, (WBC, WBA, WBO, IBF) in the highly anticipated 12-round battle against Mandatory Challenger ‘FEROCIOUS’ GEORGE KAMBOSOS JR., (19-0, 10 KOs) of Sydney, Australia on Monday, October 4 in the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden and live on Pay-Per-View (8:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. PT) with a FREEVIEW starting at 7:00 p.m. ET / 4:00 p.m. PT.
Presented in association with DiBella Entertainment, advance tickets priced at $306, $206, $106, $81 and $56, will go on-sale Tomorrow, Wednesday, September 15 at 12:00 p.m. ET through MSG.com. The event will be broadcast live on Pay-Per-View priced at $49.99 available globally through FITE.TV and on traditional cable/satellite via iNDemand.
Additional musical guests will also be announced for the full evening of entertainment. The entire event will be presented by NIGEL LYTHGOE, the Triller Fight Club visionary and producer.
Boxing fans will also be able to watch the fight on both streaming and TV PPV platforms. To order online/streaming, go to TRILLERFIGHTCLUB.com or FITE or any FITE OTT/Smart TV/mobile apps.
To watch on TV, viewers can order the event through every major cable, satellite, and telco provider in North America, including: Xfinity, Spectrum, Contour, DIRECTV & U-Verse TV, Dish, Fios, and Optimum, among others (U.S.), as well as Rogers, Shaw, Sasktel, and TELUS (Canada). iNDemand, the leading transactional video-on-demand and PPV programming provider in North America, will serve as the exclusive U.S. and Canadian cable, satellite, and telco distributor.
The eagerly awaited clash between the two undefeated warriors, at the top of the year’s boxing schedule for international boxing fans, was originally scheduled for June 19, 2021 prior to Lopez testing positive for Covid-19 of which he has made a full recovery. Known for his stunning knockout power, Lopez is world ranked #5 pound-for-pound by ESPN and #7 by RING Magazine.
The 24-year-old Lopez was the recipient of the prestigious 2020 ‘Fighter of the Year’ award by both RING Magazine and the Boxing Association of America in addition to many other international sporting platforms. On October 17, 2020, Lopez defeated unified (WBA, WBO, IBF) junior lightweight world champion Vasiliy Lomachenko in Las Vegas, NV, completing the rare four-belt UNDISPUTED status, an esteemed historical honor only achieved by five other male boxers.
Truly feeling at home at THE Mecca, Lopez has fought six previous times at Madison Square Garden including his IBF world title knockout victory over Richard Commey on December 14, 2019.
A true sporting road warrior, the 28-year-old Kambosos Jr. earned his Mandatory Challenger status by traveling to London, United Kingdom on October 31, 2020 and soundly defeating hometown favorite Lee Selby over twelve rounds. Prior to that, Kambosos Jr., also fighting on December 14, 2019 at Madison Square Garden, was victorious in a dominant ten-round performance against former world champion Mickey Bey.
Known for his extended training camps with boxing legend Manny Pacquiao, Kambosos is an Australian born fighter of Greek heritage. He is a huge star in both Greece and Australia drawing tens of thousands to each of his fights.
Headlining the undercard, DANIEL ‘El GALLO’ GONZALEZ, (20-2-1, 7 KOs), of Woodhaven, NY clashes with Brooklyn’s PETROS ANANYAN, (15-2-2, 7 KOs), in a scheduled 10-round junior welterweight bout.
Undefeated junior middleweight prospects hit the ring in a scheduled eight-rounder as JOSE ‘CHEITO’ ROMAN, (11-0, 5 KOS), of Bayamon, Puerto Rico faces CESAR ‘RAINMAN’ FRANCIS, (8-0, 6 KOs), of Brooklyn, NY.
Fighting in the junior welterweight division, WILL MADERA, (16-1-3, 9 KOs), of Albany, NY battles JAMSHIDBEK ‘THE CHAMPION’ NAJMITDINOV, (17-1, 14 KOs), of Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Popular local favorites also featured separately on the undercard include prospects ‘IRISH’ JOE WARD, (4-1, 2 KOs), in a six-round light heavyweight bout in addition to FREDERIC JULIAN, (12-0, 10 KOs), also in a scheduled six-round light heavyweight fight. Rounding out the card, newcomer HARLEY MEDEROS, (1-0, 1 KO), of Brooklyn, NY will see action in a four-round lightweight clash. Further details on these three fights will be announced shortly.
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Teofimo Lopez and George Kambosos Jr officially announce June 5 PPV fight
Teofimo Lopez and George Kambosos Jr finally officially announced their fight today, which as expected will take place June 5 on a Triller Fight Club pay-per-view. Location was not named, but Miami has been the front-runner in prior reports.
Kambosos (19-0, 10 KOs) is looking for what would definitely be a high-end Upset of the Year contender, and wants to establish his legacy as one of the greats in Australian boxing, even the best ever.
“Definitely, this will put me as the greatest ever in Australian boxing,” he said. “My focus has been this kid and taking his belts.”
As for the belts, Lopez only brought his IBF and Ring Magazine straps to the show, though his WBA and WBO titles will also be on the line, as well as the WBC’s “franchise” belt.
“I’m a little upset that he didn’t bring the other belts as well. I’m gonna take ‘em all off you,” Kambosos said, to which Lopez replied, “This is as close as you’re getting to these.”
Lopez (16-0, 12 KOs) insists he’s not looking past Kambosos, but he knows this isn’t the fight people wanted to see next, and he has an eye on the bigger names.
“This is someone that’s in front of me, he’s in my way at the moment,” he said. “I gotta move him to the side and move to the guys everyone wants to see me fight next.”
Lopez added, “I’ve been in the big leagues. I’ve been in with guys who have the experience. But I don’t overlook nobody that I face. I’m only getting better. The Lomachenko fight helped me a lot. I have more things in my arsenal that this guy’s not gonna see coming.”
As for Teofimo recently saying he thinks he’ll get a win inside three rounds, Kambosos scoffed. “If they think it’s gonna be three, no problem,” he said. “Prepare for three! But I’m gonna prepare for every single round.”
The fighters then put on a little theatrical show, with Lopez removing his shirt and the two squaring up like they were about to fight, with host Ray Flores stepping between them, an unlikely happening if the two had any real intention of throwing hands. To make it look slightly more real, one (1) other person was also in the middle.
Lopez really fired up at that point.
“I’ll put you on a fuckin’ stretcher. You’re gonna be a fuckin’ example of why I’m gonna put everybody on their ass,” the champ barked. “I’m gonna put my foot on your neck, my dude. You should be thanking me, my guy.”
After things “calmed down” and returned to normal, it was pretty much standard stuff.
“I feel like this is owed to me. I’ve come from the local shows, a handful of people in Sydney, Australia. I’ve gone all around the world, gone into the backyards of former champions. I’m going into the backyard of the undisputed champion right now,” Kambosos said.
“I’m ready, man. I’ve been through it all. I haven’t had no one pushing me. I haven’t had no big platform. I’ve had that underdog mentality a long time, and I’m the underdog again. He is the favorite, but when he’s been the underdog, he’s performed. When he’s been the favorite, he hasn’t performed. The pressure is on him.”
Kambosos ended with the bold and expected prediction: “I’m winning this fight. I’m taking all them belts back to Australia. I’m telling you now, I’m winning this fight.”
“It’s going to be one to watch, and it’s going to be a short night. We’re gonna stay focused training. We can’t overlook Kambosos or anyone,” Lopez said at the end. “You have it, you can lose it. We have a great game plan. We know what we’re gonna do, we’re gonna execute it just like the Lomachenko fight but better. You guys are gonna see a better version of Teofimo Lopez than ever before.”
The event will also feature an exhibition between Evander Holyfield, 58, and Kevin McBride, 47.
