Greek Australian, George Kambosos Jr, has set his sights on taking down Teofimo Lopez’s lightweight IBF world title.
He has what it takes – hunger, discipline and above all, sacrifice.
In fact, speaking on Sky Sports’ Big Sports Breakfast this morning, Kambosos explained just how much of a sacrifice he had to make to achieve his boxing dream.
He had to leave his young family behind for about seven weeks to go up against, and ultimately beat, Lee Selby in an IBF lightweight world title eliminator in the United Kingdom.
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“I left Australia six, seven weeks ago for Miami where my training base is,” Kambosos said on the podcast.
“I left my family in the middle of a pandemic to fight in the US, prepare there and then fly to another danger zone where the pandemic is really bad in the UK to get the job done on enemy territory.
“It’s a tough time to be away especially when you have two kids at an early age. My young son he took his first steps and I wasn’t there but that’s the sacrifice as a fighter. I’m taking risks. I’ve now had seven fights in a row abroad and I truly deserved to be in the position I’m in.”
After his victory against Lee Selby, Kambosos is now expected to fight Teofimo Lopez in early March to April next year, but insists he would get in the ring tomorrow if he had the option.
“If it could be tomorrow I’d take it tomorrow, I’m still on a high, I’ve been training non-stop in quarantine and doing as much as I can do in a hotel room,” he said.
And after several fights abroad, Kambosos Jr. is firm on wanting to keep this fight down under, describing it as “the biggest fight in Australian history.”
“Our priority is Sydney or Melbourne, it all depends on Melbourne with the COVID. If we can pack out 50-60,000 people, this will be the biggest fight in Australian history. A unified title fight,” Kambosos can he heard saying.
“I know a lot of people will doubt me but I love that underdog mentality. I thrive on being the underdog. This is a big opportunity for myself.”
There’s no doubt the rising boxing star believes it is his time and he will be willing to sacrifice it all again.
