Aussie boxer George Kambosos Jr’s title fight is in the mud again after the company promoting the bout pulled the plug having blown millions on it.
After blowing around $US10 million ($A13.7m) on promoting Australian boxer George Kambosos Jr’s lightweight title fight against Teofimo Lopez, Triller has finally pulled the plug on promoting the bout.
Triller sent shockwaves through the boxing community after they secured the rights to Lopez vs Kambosos with an audacious $US6m ($A8.2m) bid for the mandatory IBF title fight in February.
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Kambosos and Lopez’s bout was initially scheduled for June 5 back, but the date was continually pushed back four times due to a multitude of complications, including Lopez contracting Covid a week before their rescheduled date of June 19.
But after months of pouring money into the fight with no actual bout to show for it, Triller finally threw in the towel.
“[With] the advertising we’d lined up, the performance marketing we’d line up, the radio spots, the television spots, all this stuff, quite frankly it’s fair to say at the moment, we’re between $9 million to $10 million in promotional dollars, promotional money, that we’ve spent to promote this fight,” Meier told Yahoo Sports.
“We’ve gotten nothing out of it and … this is why we’re saying enough is enough.”
Meier’s announcement comes just days after Kambosos’ legal counsel wrote to the IBF on Tuesday, requesting they find Triller in default of its obligation to honour the contracts they signed to ensure the Aussie’s fight against Lopez would go ahead.
The letter from Kambosos’ lawyer Greg Smith was obtained by ESPN, as Smith also claimed Triller misinformed Lopez that Kambosos signed a contract clause allowing the fight location to move, but Kambosos’ contract never specified the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn, New York, as the venue.
“Triller has breached the contract, lied to the IBF about Mr Kambosos’ agreement to move the bout and attempted to coerce Mr Kambosos into executing an amendment that does not comply with IBF [rules] in that it does not specify a venue,” Smith wrote.
“Triller should be declared in default … and should be barred from future purse bids for its egregious behaviour”.
Both Kambosos and Lopez had signed a contract to fight on October 4 at the Hulu Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City, but Triller opted to move the bout to October 16 so that they wouldn’t be competing with the NFL on Monday night.
With Triller giving up on promoting the fight, the stage is set for legendary boxing promoter Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Sport to swoop in and secure the rights for Lopez vs Kambosos.
Matchroom Sport did make an initial bid to stage the fight back in February, but were blown out of the water by Triller’s astonishing bid.
Kambosos, who holds a record of 19 wins and no losses, has not fought since defeating Welsh boxer Lee Selby by split decision in October last year.
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