George Kambosos pulls off mega upset, defeats Teofimo Lopez to become unified lightweight champ

Australian George Kambosos Jr. pulled off a massive upset over Teofimo Lopez with a split decision victory to claim the WBA, IBF and WBO world lightweight titles this Sunday at the Madison Square Garden Theater in New York, USA.

Lopez came out swinging right off the gate unleashing wild right hands. Overly eager to score a stoppage, Lopez was made to pay by Kambosos after he ate an overhand right that dropped him before the round ended.

Lopez was back to his aggression the following round while Kambosos remained calm as he tried to time his charging foe. Kambosos, meanwhile, capitalized on his foe’s aggression by utilizing his jab, left hook, and right straight.

Kambosos found his groove from round five onwards, outjabbing Lopez while repeatedly landing his right straight on top. In round 9, a hard right straight from Lopez managed to hurt Kambosos.

Lopez finally landed the right straight that he has been looking for in round ten that dropped Kambosos. The Australian beat the count but was unsteady on his feet which gave Lopez the confidence to come at him hard.

Kambosos came alive in round 11 throwing hard left hooks and right straights which drew a cut on the side of Lopez's left eye. Lopez fought with little urgency in round 12, allowing Kambosos to throw and land his flurries until the final bell.

Two of the three judges saw the fight for the 13 to 1 underdog and Manny Pacquiao’s former sparring partner. He improved his record to 20-0 with 10 knockouts while Lopez tasted his first defeat as he dropped to 16-1 with 12 knockouts.

—JMB, GMA News