MAFB: Teofimo Lopez vs George Kambosos Jr Review
Pintsized Background
Always said it would be worth the wait for Teofimo Lopez and George Kambosos Jr! (Don’t check my previous articles, thanks in advance). On a pretty light card (understandable with the main event) there was still a lot of fun to be had. MAFB: Lopez vs Kambosos Review will centre on the twelve round back-and-forth affair for *almost* all the jewels at Lightweight, as well as Ramla Ali’s shut-out victory.
Zhilei Zhang unsurprisingly stopped Craig Lewis in a couple of rounds, Raymond Ford impressed with a referee stoppage against the gritty Felix Caraballo, while Christina Cruz, Ramla Ali and Anthony Christopher Herrera all secured comfortable as expected victories. Ogawa’s relentless pressure was enough to bank the rounds against a slick yet stationary Azinga Fuzile, but we’ll give it a couple of weeks before we congratulate the Japanese champion based on previous drugs tests.
Catch up on the preview and predictions for Teofimo Lopez vs George Kambosos Jr: Predictions if you haven’t already, and have a good old laugh at our expense. Number crunching more your suit? Find all of Pintsized scores for your favourite fighters on MAFB Math: Lopez vs Kambosos Jr.
Unconvinced by Pintsized’s mystical predicting powers? Take a look at our prediction success last month detailed in Boxing Predictions Results: October 2021.
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Teofimo Lopez vs George Kambosos Jr
Kambosos Jr def. Lopez // Decision (split – 113-114, 115-112, 115-111)
Fight Breakdown
Usually, when fighters promise an early finish, it is just audio bites to sell a fight. Perhaps Teofimo felt he had the power to crack Kambosos early and
show that there were levels between the two. Unfortunately for Lopez, his power didn’t mean much when he was wildly swinging in the opening round. Lopez has heavy hands, but this isn’t heavyweight, you cannot afford to rely on athleticism alone ala Francis N’Gannou.
As Lopez jumped into combinations in the first round, Kambosos stayed light on his feet and consistently slipped to his left. While it should have proved dangerous moving onto Lopez’s powerful right hand, the champion made no attempts to mask his work. Lopez’s exceptional athleticism and hand speed doesn’t mean anything if Kambosos can reasonably predict the same combinations that Lopez was employing. Securing a flash knockdown in the first round took some steam out of Lopez’s sails, but he made no attempts to settle into the composed boxer he proved he could play against Lomachenko.
Over the twelve rounds, Kambosos Jr was able to keep Lopez’s volume down by consistently forcing the champion’s weight onto the back-foot through the jab. Rather than slip inside the jab, Lopez jerked backwards every time, which allowed Kambosos to then feint the jab into the left hook to regularly notch clean scoring shots on the scorecards.
There was a small scare in the tenth round as Kambosos slowed and Lopez caught a second wind. The Aussie ate a huge right hand which crumpled him to the canvas, yet the challenger showed considerable heart to make it to his corner. Of course, it helped that Lopez showboated while Kambosos recovered, then decided to pull the trigger but draining the gas tank in the process. There wasn’t much class in the post-fight interview, but to be fair to Lopez, he had been in a hearty twelve-round fight and had received awful corner advice from his father all night.
George Kambosos Jr Analysis and Future
Firstly, there was no rematch clause, and most pundits are calling for the Aussie to give Lopez his just desserts, but it makes no sense. For Kambosos it would be his most lucrative option, which should reign far and above ‘legacy’ or buzzwords that underpaid fighters are desperate to claim post-career. If Kambosos wants to unite all the belts, he can organise a Summer 2022 showdown with the winner of Devin Haney and Joseph Diaz for their WBC belt.
Teofimo Lopez Analysis and Future
Naturally, Teofimo Lopez should be campaigning for a rematch with Kambosos to reclaim his titles. If the belts are tied up in a Kambosos vs the winner of Haney/Diaz, Lopez could earn a fat pay check rematching, Vasyl Lomachenko. Taking a loss in the rematch, however, would effectively wipe out Lopez’s hype. A safer option would be to squash Jorge Linares who is most likely unable to handle Lopez’s power. Although it would never happen, the Ryan Garcia matchup would be incredibly tasty.
Ramla Ali vs Isela Vera
Ali def. Vera // Decision (unanimous – 40-36, 40-36, 40-36)
Fight Breakdown
Isela Vera is a very tough, game fighter. There is no planet that Ramla Ali should be fighting an opponent of Vera’s capability. The decorated amateur may be relatively young in terms of professional rounds, but she is several levels above Vera. The Mexican’s total inability to close the distance safely gave it away, standing on the outside and eating straight shots for fun.
Aside from an early rush of blood that saw Ali trade hooks in the pocket with her stockier opponent, Ramla opted smartly to box on the outside for the remainder. It was a dominant performance in which Ali never looked troubled with controlling the distance or pace. Unfortunately, the fight told us absolutely nothing about Ali. We didn’t get to see Ramla’s ability to fight under duress, whether she can adapt on the fly, or if she can manage the same output over bouts longer than 4/6 rounds.
Ramla Ali Analysis and Future
The Somalian is by far a spring chicken. Women’s Super Bantamweight isn’t the steepest division, but Ali needs to kick on soon before age starts to factor into the equation. Granted, with fights like these where Ramla takes no damage, she could enter the ring six times a year. There has to be an element of learning and development, however. Get Ali in with an American next time in America to generate some sort of headlines, perhaps Shanecqua Paisley Davis – a decent record but vastly inferior skillset.
Isela Vera Analysis and Future
With perhaps the top payday of her career pocketed, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Isela Vera hang up her gloves. The Long Beach resident showed a great chin against Ramla Ali but would need huge improvements to build a reasonable career. In particular, Vera’s tendency to switch off and drop her hands at will in the pocket is a hugely amateur mistake that is vital to iron out. In dreamland, a willing promoter would find desperate journeymen to pad out the record and build a bit of confidence.
Pintsized Awards
Pintsized Prospect
Raymond Ford. After a bit of a stinker against Aaron Perez, Raymond Ford has bounced back with two huge statement stoppages.
Pintsized Veteran
Kenichi Ogawa. Two times the charm for Kenichi Ogawa who schooled a slick yet inexperienced Azinga Fuzile for the IBF World Title.
Surprise of the Night
Kambosos def. Lopez. It had to be surely?
Fight of the Night
Kamboses def. Lopez. Twelve rounds which featured both men hitting the canvas and eating their fair share of heavy artillery.
Finish of the Night
Zhang def. Lewis. The first meaningful shot of the note cleansed Lewis of his consciousness.
Tipping Jar
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