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By: Hans Themistode
Teofimo Lopez was adamant that he would not be traveling to the backyard of IBF mandatory challenger George Kambosos Jr., to defend his lightweight world titles. Lopez, 24, was so headstrong in his decision in fact, that he threatened to drop the IBF title entirely. Now, after a lengthy battle, he should be ultimately happy with the results.
For the first title defense of his unified career, Lopez will take on Kambosos Jr. at the Hulu Theater in New York’s Madison Square Garden on October 5th.
According to Mike Coppinger of ESPN, who first reported the news, Ryan Kavanaugh of Triller has reportedly sent out contracts to both parties.
“We’re really excited about it: Tuesday night boxing in New York,” said Kavanaugh.”
As specified by Kavanaugh, Lopez vs. Kambosos Jr. will be available for purchase through FITE for $19.99. Or, if fans aren’t too pleased with dishing out that sort of cash, they’ll have the secondary option of seeing the fight through a monthly Triller subscription plan of $2.99.
Over the past few months, their showdown has suffered through numerous starts and stops. Originally, the plan was for Lopez to take on Kambosos Jr. in Miami Florida on June 5th. They then choose to move off the date entirely due to the high-profile mega event between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Logan Paul.
Once their contest was rescheduled, they ran into another issue, as Lopez tested positive for COVID-19. With the two now on the verge of facing off, Lopez will look to begin his reign as a unified champion.
The pugnacious knockout artist, added both the WBA and WBO titles, as well as the ever confusing WBC “Franchise” title to his collection with a win over Vasyl Lomachenko late last year. Kambosos Jr., 28, worked his way to the number one ranking in the IBF sanctioning body due to a split decision win over former titlist, Lee Selby in October of 2020.
