Lopez to defend titles in Australia in February?

Teofimo Lopez

Negotiations are underway for a possible duel between the new king of the lightweight category, Teofimo Lopez (16-0, 12 KOs) with George Kambosos Jr. (19-0, 10 KOs). The fight could take place in February in Australia.

Lopez, after the October victory over Vasyl Lomachenko, owns the IBF, WBA, WBO and WBC championship belts. Kambosos is the official contender for the International Boxing Federation title. In October, he won the IBF tournament by defeating Lee Selby on points.

The IBF has not yet obliged the parties to begin negotiations on this issue, but Lopez's team sees no obstacles to a mandatory defense early next year in the absence of more interesting proposals. At the same evening, the third fight of Joshua Franco and Andrew Moloney may take place. The first fight ended with Franco's victory, and the second was controversially declared as a no decision.