Contenders wanted: How a banner month for lightweights will shape boxing's deepest division in '22



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George Kambosos Jr. won the lightweight world title.

Teofimo Lopez lost his lightweight titles by a split decision to George Kambosos Jr. There is a time limit.

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George Kambosos Jr.'s victory over Teofimo Lopez shook up the lightweight division, setting the stage for a series of fights in one of boxing's deepest divisions.

The hierarchy looks different now that Kambosos is 135 pounds. Lopez, who was the clear No. 1 at lightweight, is moving up to 140 pounds and all of his previous titles are owned by Kambosos.

The 135-pound weight class is filled with talent and some of the most well-known boxers in the sport regardless of Lopez's departure. There will be a lot of action in the next 15 days as there are four high-profile lightweight bouts.

"We're going to let these other lightweights have their fights over the next couple of weeks and see who's the most impressive," Kambosos said on Tuesday. I made a big statement. I would like to see these guys make a statement.

Kambosos wants to see his opponents in person. The 28-year-old will travel from Miami to Las Vegas to attend the fight between the titleholder and the challenger. It is 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 Kambosos is going to fly to Los Angeles on Sunday for Gervonta Davis' match with Cruz. It's on TV, Showtime.

There will be one more lightweight fight of prominence in December of 2021. The program is on the cable network, ESPN.

The bar is now set for the six boxers who follow Lopez-Kambosos.

Kambosos said that they could turn into barn-burners or be played safe. I know what I did over the weekend and how good of a fight it was. It depends on how much they want to prove who's the leader.

It's never a good idea to look ahead when faced with a hungry challenger, as Kambosos' monster upset of Lopez reminded us. That is the person that Haney is fighting. A classic mix of styles can be seen in Haney-Diaz.

Eddie Hearn, who promoted Kambos-Lopez and will also stage Haney-Diaz, said that lightweight is the hottest division in the sport. George Kambosos is the undisputed champion, but first he has to get through Saturday, which will be difficult.

It won't be. Ryan Garcia had to have surgery after he suffered a wrist injury. Suddenly in need of an opponent, Golden Boy and Hearn moved quickly to deliver another intriguing match up.

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2 p.m. Luis Alberto Lopez is fighting for the IBF title.

The networks are on at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, December 11th, is the day of the lightweights fight between Richard Commey and Vasiliy Lomachenko.

Kambosos' plan is simple: measure all the performances and negotiate with the one with the best performance. There is a catch.

"I've had to go into their backyards, travel thousands of miles away, and it's time one of these guys did the same and come to Australia," Kambosos said. 80,000 people are in a stadium. It's bigger than anything in the U.S.

The other lightweights will have to earn a shot at Kambosos, beginning with Haney and Diaz.

Before they make their ring walks Saturday in Las Vegas, let's survey the landscape of the 135-pound division, examining the contender waiting in the wings, the prospects ready to make their move and even a couple of sleepers.

The undisputed champion.

George Kambosos Jr. is20-0, 10KOs.

The Undisputed Champion of The World!
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George Kambosos Jr. is pictured.

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Kambosos was given little chance to trouble Lopez, but he executed the game plan to perfection.

The right hand that floored Teofimo in the closing seconds of Round 1 was the beginning of the fight. Kambosos was able to find his range quickly. He jabbed with rhythm and presented a moving target for Lopez's power shots.

The scorecards entered the championship rounds after Kambosos was dropped hard in Round 10. He split the rounds in the eyes of the other two judges by sweeping Rounds 11 and 12 on one card.

Kambosos' resume wasn't good before he won over Lee Selby and MIckey Bey. He has the best win in the division, a bloody, brutal battle that tested his will and skill.

He said that "'The Four Kings' was everywhere on social media, everyone's talking about 'The Four Kings,' but I just stayed in the dark." "I was the dark horse, but I knew that 'The Emperor' would come over and control everyone."

I will eventually fight all those guys and beat them all, like I did with Lopez. I'm here to win. I have a mentality of war.

The other titleholders.

The lightweight champion is Devin Haney.

In May, Devin Haney defeated Jorge Linares to retain his lightweight world title.

After turning pro after his 17th birthday, he gained experience against low-level fighters in Tijuana and built up a big social-media following.

He has the best defense in the division, but in his best win yet, he showed another aspect of his game: strength. His victory over Linares was the first time he faced a former champion.

He was bucked before the bell to end Round 10 but still managed to win. He was much more aggressive against Linares, opening himself up to a lot more damaging shots.

He faces a better fighter than Linares. A convincing victory here will allow Haney to set up a fight with Kambosos for all the belts at 135 pounds.

"This is the fight that I'm going to get all the credit that I deserve, and I'm going to make everything of it," said Haney, who lives and trains in Las Vegas.

Gervonta Davis is a "regular lightweight" champion.

In June, Gervonta Davis scored an 11th-round victory over Mario Barrios.

Tank Davis is one of the most popular boxers in the division and one of the biggest ticket-sellers. His first fight at 135 pounds will be against Cruz on Sunday, but he has been a main event fighter for three years.

His last lightweight performance was a 12th-round knockout of a well-past-his-expiration version of Gamboa.

Despite his star power, he has the worst resume of the marquee names in the division. Part of that can be attributed to how Davis has bounced between three divisions, and he currently holds a secondary title at 140 pounds.

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Even though Davis is competing at a different weight, there is no debate about his power and talent.

Cruz stepped in on short notice after the challenger was accused of sexual assault.

Davis said that the change in opponent did not affect his game plan. We have to perform when it's time.

The former lightweight champion.

Teofimo Lopez has won 16 fights.

The fight between Teofimo Lopez and George Kambosos Jr. took place at the Madison Square Garden in New York.

Lopez was looking ahead to a big 2022. He had a plan to jump to 140 pounds for a fight with Josh Taylor, and then a fight against Haney.

It's not clear where Lopez goes, but he's done with 135 pounds a little earlier than expected.

Lopez said that he had been draining himself because of his difficulty in making the lightweight limit.

Lopez will return to the platforms of the Disney company after a fight on the streaming service, hoping to rediscover the form that led to his victory over the Ukrainian. He'll return to Top Rank, where he began his professional career, because the promoter has proven to be the best at rebuilding careers.

Lopez will fight a soft touch at 140 pounds before he gets a shot at Taylor or another marquee name in that division. It's not clear if Lopez will fight again at 135 pounds, but he's no longer the top lightweight in the world.

A boxer named Vasiliy Lomachenko has a 15-2 record.

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The referee called the fight in the middle of the ninth round because of the dominance of the opponent.

The former pound-for-pound king is determined to get back what he used to have.

It was too late for him to turn it on down the stretch, as he played it safe over the first seven rounds. The man fought with a torn rotator cuff. He came back in June and picked apart Masayoshi Nakatani, a 135-pound contender.

On December 11th, he will take on another former opponent, Commey. If he can come through with another great performance, he could face Kambosos next year.

It would be foolish to count him out now that he has accomplished so much in the Hall of Fame.

Richard Commey is a winner.

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Lopez wore a Kyler Murray jersey in his win over Richard Commey in December, just like he did in his victory over Joe Burrow.

In the past, the Ghanaian had lost to Robert Easter Jr., Denis Shafikov, and Ray Beltran, but finally broke through with a title victory in 2019.

In his first title defense, Commey was stopped by Lopez in two rounds. He's also being counted out by the other team. Commey is trying to stay relevant at 34. A competitive performance against Commey will be enough to get the job done.

Commey will earn more meaningful fights if it's as a hard-nosed, beatable opponent.

He said that since the Lopez fight, he has thought about becoming a two-time world champion. I will get closer to my goal after this fight. I know that most people think I'm the only one who can do that, but I want to prove them wrong and make them proud.

Linares has won 29 knockouts.

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A right hand flush by Linares sent him to the mat. The man gets up and survives the round.

The former three-division champion is now a gatekeeper. There's no shame in that. Linares is still good enough to beat the very best lightweights. Linares will test their mettle against those talents.

He did that against Haney, and it would still be a reasonable challenge for a fighter like Garcia or Romero. The days of Linares are over.

The contender:

Joseph Diaz Jr. has a record of 32-1-1.

In July, Joseph Diaz Jr. had a great performance in a back-and-forth fight with Javier Fortuna.

The 130-pound title was lost by the Olympian after he failed to make weight for his defense. After they fought to a draw, he moved up to 135 pounds and showed that this is his best weight class yet.

In his 135-pound debut, he dominated his opponent and displayed an impressive 12-round engine without suffering through his usual weight cut. The toughest challenge of his career will be faced by Diaz in his second lightweight fight.

The 28-year-old's game plan is to apply pressure and try to cut off the ring against Haney, who will enjoy edges in height and reach.

"I feel like he's smaller than me," said the native of Southern California. I feel like I'm bigger than him, even though he might be taller. It's going to show on fight night. I'm going to break him down, and he's going to be trying to hold onto me all night.

An unbreakable will has been displayed by Diaz. He won his first world title in January 2020 after fighting through a gruesome cut to defeat Tevin Farmer. In the fight against Gary Russell Jr., he was close to springing an upset.

In his third weight class, a stronger version of Diaz hopes the experience he has over Haney will help him win.

"Skills just don't pay the bills," he said. "You have to have the heart and the dog in you in order to become a champion in this sport of boxing." It hasn't been tested like that.

He's been hurt by a guy in Linares who didn't want to kill him. I feel like I'm in my prime right now, so if I have him hurt, I'm going to do what I have to do to take him out.

Cruz has a record of 22-1-1.

Gervonta Davis will face Isaac Cruz as a late replacement.

Cruz was in the running to fight Davis before he got the assignment.

Cruz ended up getting the fight he was looking for after the fight was announced. The Mexico City native is a 7-to-1 favorite to fail in his first true test. Cruz is tailor-made for Davis' style of fighting, as he is among the biggest punchers in the sport.

The young man is determined and tough, but he will have to 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217

Cruz said that his drive and desire to be champion is too big to be ignored. This fight won't be the exception. A brand new star will be born if I pull off the upset.

Ryan Garcia is 21-0.

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Boxer Ryan Garcia shows off his skills.

At 135 pounds, Davis is the biggest star, but he isn't the only one. He might have surpassed him with a victory over him this past weekend. His return will be in the spring.

The biggest win of his career was a seventh-round knockout of Olympic gold medal winnerluke Campbell. Boxing fans are enthusiastic about his potential because of the performance. The public already knew that he had fast hands, but he improved when it came to placing those shots.

The young man showed resilience, brushing off a second-round knockdown against Campbell in his toughest test yet. Once his wrist is healed, he will aim for a breakthrough in 2022.

The man is 14-0 with 12 knockouts.

The bout between Gervonta Davis and Rolando Romero was canceled after a sexual assault allegation.

He was set to make $1 million in a single night. He was accused of sexual assault. No charges have been filed after an investigation by the Henderson Police Department.

"This is still an open case and no information can be given at this time," the police information officer said.

His power is real and so is his size, even though he isn't as skilled as the other top lightweights. He uses a few awkward angles to throw those shots. He made perfect sense as a B-side because of his outsized personality.

His career is on hold while he is investigated.

There are prospects.

Rivera is22-0, 14KOs.

The young man from the Dominican Republic has a blend of speed, size and power.

He scored knockouts in two of the bouts. He has a good record against solid opponents like Ladarius Miller and Jon Fernandez, and is poised for a big leap in competition next year.

Keyshawn Davis has won his last three fights.

Davis won a silver medal in the Olympics. Davis signed with Top Rank in November, and will make his debut on the undercard of the Lomachenko-Commey fight.

Davis has shown the type of potential that made him a coveted fighter for every promoter. With the experience gained in the Olympics, Davis could be a contender sooner than later.