If George Kambosos Jr. has learned anything in 2021, it’s that you require a good lawyer to navigate the often murky and unpredictable environment that is the boxing world.
But, after a few false starts, the Australian is now just days away from what is the biggest fight of his career: a showdown with unified lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez (16-0, 12 KOs).
The storyline for this fight reads a bit like a badly written Hollywood drama, but unfortunately for Kambosos (19-0, 10 KOs) it has very much been a reality.
Lopez’s positive COVID-19 test just days out from their June 19 fight date, disagreements over the date and venue change, a complete disintegration of the deal with original promoters Triller, a subsequent lawsuit, and both personal joy and grief have very much made 2021 a “roller coaster” for the 28-year-old challenger.
But where others might have stepped away from the daily grind, Kambosos says his focus has never wavered, and that he is ready to stun the world and create Australian boxing history.
“Mentally everyone knows that Kambosos is very strong,” he told ESPN. “I’ve stayed very patient and I’ve been into work every day, day in day out, and I knew that every day I was going to get better and better. And when the fight would come, I would be 110% ready.
“I took it as a war of attrition, day by day you were having your battles with yourself to get better and better — that’s the way I looked at it. War is not won in a day, it takes time, and I’ve got that unbreakable mindset. If I go back eight weeks ago, I had the birth of my third child, my son, and on the same day my grandfather, George Kambosos, passed away. But I still trained that day, that’s the kind of fighter I am.
When Kambosos found out that Lopez tested positive, he was already in his hotel in Miami waiting for the fight, but he said he still went and trained after the news.
“I haven’t taken my foot off the pedal since forever. That’s the way I’ve always been,” Kambosos said. “People say it’s…
Source : espn
