Maxboxing 2021 Upset of the year: George Kambosos defeats Teofimo Lopez

As we head to the end of the calendar year for 2021, it is that time again when end of year awards start to pop up. I was tasked with the assignment of picking the “Upset of the Year.” I had to go with Australia’s George Kambosos and his huge upset win over fast rising star, and lightweight champion, Teofimo Lopez.

Pre-fight - Lopez turned pro in 2016 and was as hot a prospect as there was. He then turned into as hot a contender as there was. And, then became as hot a champion as there was. The man was lit, and the sky was the limit. Teo’s trainer/father was a walking, talking quote machine, and the undefeated phenom of Las Vegas, Nevada, via Davie, Florida, via Brooklyn, New York, possessed exceptional ring smarts, boxing skills and power to boot. And, he capped off each win with an in-ring back flip; this kid was box office magic. He was indeed the kind of fighter you could see morphing into a major PPV star. With highlight reel knockouts over Mason Menard, Richard Commey and Diego Magdaleno, on his way up, it was title time by the fall of 2020. However, the assignment wasn’t an easy one - lightweight star Vasyl Lomachenko.

Teofimo’s father had long predicted, as the boxing world was wowed time and again by Lomachenko’s performances, that his son could, and would, beat the former amateur legend when they met. On October 17, in Las Vegas, Teofimo Lopez did just that by handling Lomachencko for much of the bout, despite a strong, second half rally by the champion. It was later revealed that Lomachenko was fighting with a shoulder injury. However, that didn’t change the fact that on fight night, Lopez entered the ring against a vastly more experienced fighter, whom many felt would expose the brash young fighter as more sizzle than steak, and walked out with his WBO, IBF and WBA world lightweight title belts.

The Fight - While Lopez was basking in the glory of his huge win, George Kambosos was racking up wins of his own over in Australia. Having only appeared 2 times in 19 outings in the United States, he was all but unknown to most North American boxing fans. When his number came up to be the first title defence for Lopez, he was mostly thought of as a stay busy fight for the popular champion while his promoter, Top Rank, looked to link their undefeated champion up with one of the many stars in the 135-pound division. Or, perhaps move him a few pounds north to the 140-pound class to go for his second weight world title. Either way, Kambosos was thought to be little more than a box to be checked while other business was sorted out. Well, nobody told George that. From day 1, things never really fell into place for Lopez after the huge Lomachenko win. Lopez jumped to a new promoter who offered huge money that never did materialize, the venue and dates were constantly moving, injuries, covid delays - you name it. This fight was cursed. Meanwhile Kambosos quietly went about his training, waiting for his opportunity.

Finally, on November 27, (that’s 13 months after Lopez won the title) at Madison Square Garden in New York, 13-1 underdog George Kambosos was getting his world title shot. None of the pre-fight banter from Lopez and his team, (that Kambosos wouldn’t see the 2nd round), mattered. Lopez had size, the hometown crowd, more natural power, literally everything going for him. However, a focused, fearless, and completely self-confident Kambosos, didn’t buy into any pre-fight chatter. He knew he would do his talking in the ring, and from the first bell forward, he did just that. He dropped Lopez in the opening frame, consistently beat him to the punch all night, slipped Lopez’s counter shots, stayed focused and confident when he himself was dropped, and simply outworked and out gutted Lopez for the 12 rounds. Lopez, seemed to fight like a guy who indeed felt the fight would only go a round or two. Unfortunately, neither he, nor his team, seemed to have a plan if it went beyond that. Kambosos appeared locked and loaded to go all 12 rounds. In the end, the judges gave the fight to Kambosos by a split decision with judge Glenn Feldman going 115-112, Frank Lombardi seeing it 115-111 and Don Trella scoring it 114-113 for Lopez. George Kambosos went into the most difficult of situations and pulled off what I see as the “Upset of the Year”.

Post-fight - Lopez, as friendly and cordial a young man as you’ll meet out of the ring, more than likely will move up to 140-pounds as he has been struggling to make the 135-pound limit for years. He is a vastly talented fighter who will be a world champion again. He is young, gifted and should learn from the loss and come out of it a better fighter.

For the new champion Kambosos, the options are limitless in the stacked 135-pound division. With the likes of Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney and Vasyl Lomachenko and Gervonta Davis, among others, there are endless options for big fights. The talk right now is a massive fight over in Australia against Lomachenko, who is coming off a very impressive victory over former champion Richard Commey. Lomachenko is eager to secure a shot at his former belts and Kambosos, already back training, is ready and willing to fight anyone. Kambosos/Lomachenko would be a fun one - here’s hoping we see it in 2022.

Congratulations to George Kombosos for winning the 2021 “Upset of the Year” from MaxBoxing.