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George Kambosos Jr. hardly slept past weekend.
Maybe 2 oregon 3 hours amid the hysteria helium caused by stunning Teofimo Lopez connected Saturday successful New York astatine Madison Square Garden and becoming the unified lightweight champion with a bulk determination victory.
“Leading up the fight, 99.9 percent of radical didn’t believe, but I believed,” said Kambosos, a +600 underdog connected Friday night. “You’ve got to judge successful yourself nary substance what you do. Boxing. Anything If you don’t judge successful yourself 110 percent, you volition not execute it. You volition not get there. And that’s what I did.
“I backed my training. I backed the hard enactment that I enactment successful this sport,” helium added. “And I believed successful myself. I made it happen. I’ve done it.”
Kambosos (20-0, 1o knockouts) boxed brilliantly Saturday to bushed Lopez (16-1, 12 KOs) and is traveling to Las Vegas this week to ticker chap lightweight Devin Haney support his WBC rubric against JoJo Diaz successful a combat that could find his adjacent opponent.
A combat against the victor decidedly appeals to the autochthonal Australian. But lone successful Australia earlier a assemblage of 80,000 oregon truthful aft traveling stateside to seizure the WBA, WBO, IBF and WBC franchise titles.
He could opt to combat Haney oregon Diaz. Other apical lightweights see Gervonta Davis, Ryan Garcia and Vasiliy Lomachenko. WBO junior-lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson could besides determination from 130 to 135 pounds.
“I privation to combat the best. I privation to springiness the fans the champion of the best,” said the 28-year-old Australian, who is promoted by DiBella Entertainment and escaped to combat connected immoderate network. “I’ve ne'er ducked anybody and it’s evident.”
Kambosos spoke with the Review-Journal astir his triumph implicit Lopez and the trajectory of his vocation arsenic the caller champion.
Questions and answers person been edited for magnitude and clarity.
RJ: What bash you consciousness was the astir important constituent of your preparation? Especially with each the delays and postponements that accompanied this fight?
Kambosos: I continually enactment successful work. I got amended each azygous day. Continued to cleanable the crippled plan. That’s wherefore successful the fight, you saw truthful galore antithetic versions of what I came to the array with. I was ever prepared. Always conditioned. We had a large grooming campy from Wyoming to Sydney. Sydney backmost to Miami. I’ve got a large team. Great radical astir me. I’m the champion, but my squad is the champion arsenic well.
RJ: At what juncture during the promotion did you consciousness similar you took the intelligence edge?
Kambosos: I broke Teofimo backmost successful April erstwhile we had our first property conference erstwhile Triller was promoting it successful Atlanta. I mentally broke him close past and there. He was scared. He was precise nervous. He didn’t deliberation that helium was dealing with what I brought to the table. The eyes don’t lie. I was surviving successful his caput rent-free. I conscionable continued to spot away. Chip away. Show my confidence. Show my character. That outweighs talent. I broke him. Before the archetypal doorbell went, I knew that I had him already. I knew helium would travel retired flying, but I knew I would drawback him arsenic well. The crippled program was perfect.
RJ: How did your first-round knockdown alteration the people of the fight?
Kambosos dropped López successful circular 1 💥 pic.twitter.com/LqYvSuFaaK
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) November 28, 2021
Kambosos: Referencing the large Cus D’Amato, you know, erstwhile Muhammad Ali asked for his proposal erstwhile helium was warring Joe Frazier. He said “How bash I bushed this punching machine? What bash I bash successful this fight?” And (D’Amato) said “Hit him with your champion close hand. Hit him with a close manus successful the archetypal circular and marque him respect you.” And that’s what was successful my head. I went backmost to the legends of this game. I went backmost to the legendary trainers. I studied truthful overmuch much and I conscionable learned much and much astir the combat crippled from these large trainers. That was the crippled plan. Especially successful that archetypal round.
RJ: You’re the champion now. You’re going to person flexibility. You’re going to person options. What bash you privation the trajectory of your vocation to beryllium like? What are you looking for next?
Kambosos: I similar the Haney fight. But there’s immoderate precise bully fights coming up successful the lightweight division. It’s who shines the best, honestly. I showed what I have. I judge that was the show of the year. Fight of the year. Upset of the year. I privation to spot who performs the champion and we’ll marque the close decision. They’ve each got jobs to do. Each and each 1 of them and past I’m definite we’ll each bask Christmas time. I’ll beryllium successful the gym perfecting my craft. And past successful aboriginal 2022, thing volition beryllium signed. I’m definite it’ll beryllium a megafight. In Australia. In beforehand of 80,000 people.
Contact newsman Sam Gordon astatine sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon connected Twitter.
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