Triller Fight Club made a big splash in the boxing world when it promoted the exhibition match between Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. last November. The boxing promoter shook up the boxing world again in February when it won the rights to a championship fight between Teofimo Lopez and George Kambosos.
Triller first planned to put the Lopez-Kambosos fight on in June. But a variety of problems caused repeated delays for the championship fight.
The last date agreed upon for the fight was October 4. But Triller asked the fighters to agree to one more delay. The company then identified October 16 as the new date.
The George Kambosos camp disagreed with the latest date change. The situation has caused Triller Fight Club to decide it is no longer interested in promoting the lightweight title fight.
Triller executive Thorstein Meier says the company has already spent $9 million to $10 million on fight promotions. “We’ve gotten nothing out of it. This is why we’re saying enough is enough.”
Kambosos informed Triller he would require a $400,000 purse increase to agree to the date change. Lopez agreed to the date change after receiving part of his purse as an advance.
The Kambosos team was a no-show for a September 29 flight from Australia to the United States. Kambosos refused to travel to the United States without proof that a fight purse was awaiting him. Kambosos and his team also stopped responding to Triller over the dispute.
Triller reached out to the International Boxing Federation in regards to the Kambosos conflict. The fight promoter made three requests.
Triller petitioned the IBF to strip George Kambosos of his ranking in the lightweight division. The company also wants a refund for the 20% deposit paid on its $6 million bid for the fight. The final request is for the IBF to reset the purse bid for Lopez’s title defense.
George Kambosos has also filed a request with the IBF. In a letter submitted by his attorney, the lightweight contender contends that Triller defaulted on the fight contract. If Triller sides with Kambosos, the fighters would split the deposit. The rights to the fight would also go to Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing.