Undefeated lightweight contender George ‘Ferocious’ Kambosos Jr 19-0 (10) believes a fight against undisputed 135-pound champion Teofimo ‘The Takeover’ Lopez 16-0 (12) should take place in his native Australia.
Not only that, the 27-year-old Sydneysider believes the bout could be the biggest ever hosted down under, even eclipsing the Manny Pacquiao vs Jeff Horn fight that drew upward of 50,000 people to Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane three years ago.
“It’s a mega event,” Kambosos said to the Brisbane Times. “Hopefully we can do 50,000 or 60,000 somewhere in Australia. I think it’s bigger than Pacquiao-Horn.
“It makes so much business sense. It makes sense to maximise the opportunities in Australia, given how well we’ve coped with this terrible virus. It’s just a fantastic event. Pac-Horn showed it can work.
“Coming out of a pandemic, what better way to give back when you have Kambosos chasing greatness to win not one, not two, not three, but four world titles.”
Lopez added the WBA and WBO titles to his IBF belt with a clear-cut 12-round points win over pound-for-pound level fighter Vasiliy Lomachenko 14-2 (10) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas last month.
Two weeks later Kambosos beat former world champion Lee Selby on points in London to cement his position as the mandatory contender for the IBF belt, which the champion has nine months to defend.
The 23-year-old Lopez is promoted by Top Rank with head honcho Bob Arum announcing this week he is keen to bring the fight to Australia early next year.
“Everyone is on the same page, from us to Teofimo Lopez to his father to Bob Arum,” Kambosos said. “Everybody is on the same page and striving to make this happen for hopefully April next year.”
Arum wants the card to also feature a third fight between WBA ‘regular’ super flyweight titleholder Joshua ‘El Profesor’ Franco 17-1-2 (8) of El Paso, Texas and Australian Andrew ‘The Monster’ Moloney 21-1 (14).
Franco retained his title in his rematch with Moloney last weekend with a dubious no-contest ruling when he was unable to continue after two rounds due to a severely swollen right eye. The damage was ruled to have come from a headbutt although the replay failed to show any conclusive evidence of that being the case.
Arum has also flagged the possibility of featuring world-rated junior middleweight Tim Tszyu 16-0 (12) on the card.
While Sydney would seem a natural location for the fight, Melbourne must be seen as a viable alternative as it is not only the home city of Moloney, but it is also home to the largest population of expatriate Greeks.
“Anywhere you put it, it’s going to be unbelievable,” Kambosos said. “I’m born and bred in Sydney, I’d love to have it there – ANZ or Bankwest would be great. Melbourne could be a possibility if they continue to do well with the virus – Marvel Stadium would be huge.
“I’m a proud Australian, but the Greeks in Melbourne would be massive… there are over 700,000 expats. We’ll take it wherever makes most sense.
“I’m ready. I truly believe I can beat this guy and I will beat this guy. I’ve shown my class and I’m just getting better and better. He’ll be shocked with my speed and my movement. Lomachenko barely threw a punch in seven rounds. We all saw it. With 50,000 Aussies behind me, I’ll be on him straight away.”
