Former world champion and ESPN pundit Tim Bradley is convinced that undisputed lightweight champion Teofimo ‘The Takeover’ Lopez 16-0 (12) will get rid of mandatory challenger George ‘Ferocious’ Kambosos Jr 19-0 (10) early when they meet at Madison Sqaure Garden in New York on October 4.
The 24-year-old Lopez who hails from Brooklyn unified the division with a 12-round unanimous decision victory over highly-regarded Ukrainian southpaw Vasiliy Lomachenko 15-2 (11) in Las Vegas last October.
Lopez was scheduled to face Australian Kambosos, 28, on June 19 before the reigning champion tested positive to Covid-19 just days before the fight.
American video-sharing social networking service Triller won the purse bid to promote the fight, blowing away rival promoters Top Rank and Matchroom Boxing with an offer of more than $6 million.
Lopez is promoted by Top Rank while Matchroom has no connection to either fighter.
“Kambosos has flaws in his game that Teo can take advantage of,” Bradley explained to FightHype.
“I think Kambosos has a better chance now because of everything Teofimo has gone through, but talking to him tonight, it seems like he has a plan.
“I asked him tonight, ‘Would you still make the decision you made and [go with Triller] and he said, ‘Yes.’
“So, I respect that. Going through what he went through, sitting on the sidelines, going through Covid and having his fight date changed and being ridiculed by myself.
“This is what you asked for. He’s standing like a man and saying, ‘Yes, I stand by what I believe, and I don’t care what anybody else believes. So I respect that.
“Kambosos, it’s either going to be an overhand right or a left hook.
“Kambosos is a shorter fighter and he’s coming to come in and try to take chances. He’s going to try and bully all the anger that’s been built up with him. He’s going to come and probably get caught with something nasty.
“Teo looks like he’s been staying in really good shape. He looks fit. He looks lean and looks mean. So we’ll see.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve seen Teo, and it’s been a long time since we’ve seen Kambosos in the ring. Nobody has an advantage there and I’m looking forward to the fight.
“I think Lopez knocks Kambosos out and it won’t go past four rounds.
“I’m not going to lie. Kambosos is game, but can he take a punch? That’s the thing.
“You can take too many chances too early and I worry about that. I don’t know what his game plan is, but he’s not going to outbox Teofimo.
“Teo was able to outbox Lomachenko to get the victory, so he’s not going to be able to outbox Teo. So the only other thing he can do is fight him and fight him hard. Is he [Kambosos] big enough?
“I don’t know. Is he strong enough? I don’t know. Is he fast enough? I don’t know. Is he smart enough? I don’t think so. We’ll see. This is boxing.”
