DAZN took pride in announcing they would step up to the plate this week when Teofimo Lopez vs. George Kambosos Jr. fell flat yet again.
The IBF defaulted a purse bid made by Triller in February this year, ending an eight-month saga they kept both fighters out of the ring.
Lopez vs. Kambosos was due to happen in June before a Covid-19 contraction meant the mandatory clash got pushed back to October 4.
Triller then decided against going up opposite Monday Night Football and attempted to move the event to twelve days later.
This alteration did not go down well with Kambosos nor Daryl Peoples. The IBF Chairman moved to explain why his organization dropped Triller as the promoter of the fight.
“The IBF has not received anything indicating that George Kambosos has consented to the new date of October 16, 2021,” pointed out Peoples.
“Apparently, Mr. Kambosos disagrees with postponing the contracted date from October 4, 2021, to October 16, 2021.
“On September 28, 2021, the IBF received a letter from Counsel for George Kambosos indicating that he ‘was ready, willing, and able to box on October 4, 2021.’
“The IBF has no authority to mandate that either boxer agrees to date changes. The IBF was not formally notified of the proposed change from October 4, 2021, to October 16, 2021.
“And the IBF was not consulted and did not approve or consent to this date change.
“The IBF has not received notification from George Kambosos or his representatives stating that they have agreed to postpone October 4, 2021, until October 16, 2021.”
As a result of the madness, Lopez vs. Kambosos got offered to the next purse bidders in line. That was Matchroom Boxing, Eddie Hearn, and DAZN.
Needless to say, they all moved to snap the IBF’s hands firmly off. The fight could now happen in November or December.
DAZN VP Joe Markowski said, “to the rescue” as DAZN and Hearn both confirmed their intentions to take over Lopez vs. Kambosos within minutes of each other.
“Delighted to confirm that Matchroomboxing will be promoting the big Teofimo Lopez v George Kambosos unified match up live on DAZN.
“Date and venue announced shortly. Let’s get this show on the road,” said Hearn.
???? @DAZNBoxing & @MatchroomBoxing to the rescue https://t.co/udDkmtbacI
— Joe Markowski (@joemarkowski) October 6, 2021
DAZN
As DAZN takes the reigns, Lopez will feel aggrieved after losing $1.7 million due to the default ruling. Triller had paid a whopping $6.018m for the rights.
Per WBN’s Dan Rafael, Lopez would receive 65 percent. That’s around $3,9m from the monies, with cuts to representatives dropping that to about $3m.
Hearn offered $3.9m on the day the fight went under the hammer. This scenario sees Lopez getting almost $2.3m plus promoter expenses.
Rafael, currently in Las Vegas for Fury vs. Wilder III, has already spoken to Top Rank’s Bob Arum about the proceedings, which see Hearn pip his company for the rights to stage Lopez vs. Kambosos.
“I was taking to Arum in the media center. When he spoke to Hearn about Lopez vs. Kambosos, they also discussed mandatory Leigh Wood vs. Michael Conlan.
“They got an extension on next week’s purse bid and are talking about maybe doing it on St. Patrick’s Day in NYC.”
Furthermore, Rafael also revealed that Triller would seek legal action to recover the cash laid down when they initially won the fight.
“Triller says it’s going to sue the IBF to get back the $1.2m deposit it forfeited when it defaulted on the Lopez vs. Kambosos purse bid. Good luck with that,” said Dan.
