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OXON HILL, MD – JULY 19: Teofimo Lopez walks to his corner after the seventh round of his lightweight IBF World Title Elimination fight against Masayoshi Nakatani (not pictured) at The Theater at MGM National Harbor on July 19, 2019 in Oxon Hill, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
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OXON HILL, MD – JULY 19: Teofimo Lopez walks to his corner after the seventh round of his lightweight IBF World Title Elimination fight against Masayoshi Nakatani (not pictured) at The Theater at MGM National Harbor on July 19, 2019 in Oxon Hill, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
The unified lightweight king, Teofimo Lopez, will put his WBA, IBF, and WBO titles on the line against George Kambosos Jr. This will be his mandatory title defense after a sensational last win over the Ukrainian Vasyl Lomachenko.
This fight was in talks to get staged for early 2021, but the champion recently revealed the dates for this clash as May 29.
Talking to Sirius XM Boxing, Lopez asserted that Triller, the broadcaster for this fight, is planning to set this fight for the aforementioned date. He even added that his mandatory title defense fight was originally getting set with ‘Golden Boy’ Oscar De La Hoya’s return, but that plan fell through. (h/t Michael Benson)
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 17: In this handout image provided by Top Rank, Teofimo Lopez Jr punches Vasiliy Lomachenko in their Lightweight World Title bout at MGM Grand Las Vegas Conference Center on October 17, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank via Getty Images)
Lopez has massive plans of fighting for the undisputed 135-pound title. But the Australian George Kambosos Jr. arrived into the picture with a mandatory tag.
The ‘Takeover’ will have to vanquish the latter from his way to continue with his undefeated stint and titles.
The champion will move into this bout with sheer confidence, as he won The Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year Award in 2020 for his enthralling, win over ‘Loma’.
Moving into this battle, Lopez seems inquisitive to put on a show yet again and make 2021 his best year.
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Will this be an easy title defense for Teofimo Lopez?
Lopez has kept an active run in the 135-pound landscape even after being the champion. But this mandatory challenge might prove one of his toughest tests to date. His opponent, Kambosos Jr. is an undefeated prospect, with 19 wins to his name.
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He doesn’t possess the ferocious power like the ‘Takeover’. But he has every skill set in his arsenal to overpower the champion.
However, Lopez won’t look to underestimate ‘Ferocious’. He knows the challenge the latter brings into this fight, and the American will train himself for the same.
Furthermore, if he gets past Kambosos Jr. in this mandatory title defense, he might just open himself for even bigger fights.
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His game-plan in this bout will prove to be a must-watch. And his fans wish to see him get his hand raised yet again.
Can Lopez stun Kambosos Jr. in this electrifying encounter?
