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George Kambosos Jr. has stated that he is proud of former opponent Teofimo Lopez for making his return to the ring and moving up to 140lbs.
There has been no love lost between Kambosos and Lopez, who fought each other back in November 2021 at Madison Square Garden. The Australian caused a major upset by outboxing Lopez over 12 rounds to claim a split-decision win and capture the IBF, WBA and WBO Lightweight Championships.
Following the first loss of his professional career, Lopez blamed DAZN for not getting the win against Kambosos and suggested that he was robbed by the judges. However, 'The Takeover' licked his wounds and made his comeback at 140lbs on August 13 against Pedro Campa, winning via seventh-round stoppage.
Despite Lopez's animosity towards him, George Kambosos was complimentary of his bitter rival. He said the following in an interview with FightHype:
"Me and Teo always go back and forth and I still go back at him when he brings up all these excuses. 1,500 excuses that he has. But I'm proud of him because to come back after the fight we had, that shows that he's a champion. So I wish him all the best at 140."
Watch the full interview below:
George Kambosos Jr. intends to ruin Top Rank's plan to make Devin Haney vs. Vasyl Lomachenko
During the same interview, George Kambosos Jr. claimed that he doesn't care about recent speculation that Devin Haney could face Vasyl Lomachenko next. He continued:
"Maybe that is the plan but I'm a homewrecker. I done it against Lopez, they had their plans. I had to lose something. I guess Haney, let him come in with everything now and let me wreck their plans again. So if that's their plan, so be it."
'The Emperor' will have the opportunity to regain his belts when he takes on Haney for a second time in Australia. Kambosos was comprehensively beaten by the American in their first encounter this past June. Haney cruised to a unanimous decision and some experts believe he did not deserve to lose a round.
Watch the full fight replay of Kambosos vs. Haney:
Haney is likely to be a strong favourite going into the rematch. However, with Kambosos fighting in his home country for the second consecutive time, he could secure a rebound win with a more competitive performance.
