By Sean Jones: Contracts have been sent to undisputed lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez and his IBF mandatory George Kambosos Jr. to sign for them to meet on October 5th in a PPV fight at Madison Square Garden in New York.
The International Boxing Federation’s deadline for the contracts to be signed is by Tuesday.
It’ll be fun to see what happens if they don’t sign. Somehow, it would be fitting, given how of a pure nightmare the Teofimo vs. Kambosos Jr fight has been to get done.
Mike Coppinger reports that Triller boss Ryan Kavanaugh says contracts have been sent out to Teofimo (16-0, 12 KOs) and the unbeaten Kambosos Jr (19-0, 10 KOs) for them to ink and meet on October 5th.
It’ll be a relief for boxing fans for Teofimo to FINALLY get this little mismatch out of the way so he can move forward for more serious contests, such as a rematch with Vasily Lomachenko.
Teofimo vs. Kambosos priced at $19.99 on PPV
Boxing fans can order the Teofimo-Kambosos Jr. fight for $19.99 on pay-per-view, according to Mike Coppinger. Hopefully, Triller Fight Club has a nice undercard to go with this fight because they may need it.
American boxing fans aren’t going to be overjoyed at the thought of paying to watch Teofimo obliterate Kambosos on October 5th.
They want to see competitive fights involving Teofimo, preferably against guys like Lomachenko, Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney, or Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis.
I hate to say it, but Kambosos Jr isn’t a household name in the U.S, as his two best wins, a pair of split decision victories, over 34-year-old Lee Selby and 38-year-old Mickey Bey, don’t say much about his qualifications to be challenging for a world title.
Would it have been asking too much for the IBF to have at least ordered Kambosos Jr to have fought Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz, Vasily Lomachenko, or Masayoshi Nakatani to earn his mandatory spot? I’m just saying.
In hindsight, if Teofimo had vacated his IBF title, to begin with, he wouldn’t be weighed down, trapped into taking a fight that the U.S boxing fans have little interest in seeing.
Oh, I’m sure Kambosos Jr is popular in his native Australia, but that country is a world away from the United States, and this is not a must-see fight for the Americans. It’s a must-NOT see type of affair.
Teo may have some ring rust
Top Rank had hoped of scheduling a rematch between Teofimo and Lomachenko for December, but that’s not happening now, obviously.
By the time Teofimo faces Kambosos Jr on October 5th, the New York native will have been out of the ring for 12 months since beating Lomachenko last October.
Fortunately for Teofimo, he’s young at 24, and he’s not fighting a real threat. If Teofimo faced someone dangerous like Isaac Cruz, Richard Commey, Nakatani, or Ryan Garcia, he might have some real worries.
“Triller’s Ryan Kavanaugh tells ESPN contracts being sent today for the Teofimo Lopez-George Kambosos title fight. It will take place Tuesday, Oct. 5, at New York’s Hulu Theater at MSG. $19.99 for the PPV or $2.99 as part of a monthly subscription. IBF deadline for contracts is tomorrow,” said Mike Coppinger on Twitter.