Teofimo Lopez vs George Kambosos Jr – Results & Post Fight Report

George Kambosos Jr stunned Teofimo Lopez, and was crowned WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and WBC Franchise lightweight champion with a thrilling split decision win at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Lopez had added the WBA and WBO straps to his IBF titles with a superb points win against Vasyl Lomachenko, but that victory came in October last year. The meeting with his IBF mandatory challenger Kambosos had been postponed several times, with the original purse bid won by Triller, before they made way for Matchroom and DAZN to promote the show. Sydney based Kambosos earned his lofty ranking with a points win over Lee Selby in London last year. Both men came into this fight unbeaten.

Lopez shot out of the blocks, teeing off with power punches from the opening bell, but the visitor did have some success on the counter, and a massive counter right hook over the top sensationally dropped Lopez at the end of the first round as the champion got careless.

Lopez was more measured in his approach in round two, but the pace was frantic, and he was caught again by a big right hand. The Aussie certainly wasn’t being overawed on his world title debut, connecting with his jab and landing solid shots, getting the better of a wild exchange at the end of the fourth and troubling Lopez in the fifth too. Kambosos was simply showing no regard for his opponent, and was banking several rounds with his jab and overhand right in particular that were causing Lopez major issues, in what was a sluggish display from the champion. He did awake from his slumber to wobble Kambosos in the ninth with a big right hand, but the challenger did well to regroup. The tide seemed to be turning, and Lopez decked a tiring Kambosos with a chopping right hand in round ten, but he was unable to finish the job on the resumption.

The penultimate frame saw Lopez checked by the ringside doctor due to a nasty cut above his left eye, and Kambosos rallied with the fight seemingly in the balance going into the final session. The duo left everything in the ring in the final there minutes, and the result was anyone’s guess.

After a long delay, the scores were read out. Kambosos got the nod by scores of 115-111 and 115-112, while the third judge scored Lopez a 114-113 winner.

Kenechi Ogawa claimed the vacant IBF super featherweight title on the undercard, dropping South Africa’s Azinga Fuzile three times on the way to a points win. Ogawa had won this belt back in 2017, with a points win against Kevin Farmer, but a post-fight failed drug test forced the Japanese to be stripped. Fuzile was down in the fifth, and was badly bloodied by the end of the fight, and he was dropped twice with straight right hands in the final frame, barely surviving to the final bell. Two scores of 115-110, and a third at 114-111 confirmed Ogawa as the new champion.

Raymond Ford made a successful first defence of his WBA Continental featherweight title, as he scored an eighth round stoppage win against Felix Caraballo, who had lost to Shakur Stevenson and Robeisey Ramirez in his last two fights prior to meeting Ford.

Chinese heavyweight hope, Zhilei Zhang got back to winning ways after a draw with Canelo Alvarez vs Avni Yildirim – Results & Post-Fight Report last time out, and he posted a second round stoppage win against Craig Lewis.

Ramla Ali moved to 4-0, taking all four rounds of her super bantamweight affair with Isela Vera, while Christina Cruz made it two wins from two as a professional, banking a six round decision win against Maryguenn Valinga at flyweight. In the battle of the debutants at bantamweight, Anthony Christopher Herrera stopped Jonathan Tejeda in two.