Kambosos thankful to Pacquiao for molding him into a champion

CEBU, Philippines —  He went into the fight as a heavy underdog.

But as it turned out, Australia’s George Kambosos delivered a massive upset that shook the boxing world.

Kambosos stunned the heavily favored Teofimo Lopez by split decision in their bloody and bruising 12-round war to become the unified world lightweight champion last Sunday at the Hulu Theater of Madison Square Garden in New York.

Two judges scored the bout 115-111 and 115-112 for Kambosos, while one  judge gave the fight to Lopez 114-113, hence the split verdict.

Aside from stretching his perfect record to 20-0 spiked with 10KOs, the 28-year-old Kambosos also claimed the WBA, IBF and WBO 135-pound belts.

Filipino sports hero Manny Pacquiao was among the first to congratulate Kambosos moments after the latter’s monumental triumph.

Kambosos was once Pacquiao’s chief sparring partner where they shared hundreds of no-holds-barred rounds.

“Congratulations to my friend George Kambosos on an epic win! You helped me in so many of my past fights,” Pacquiao wrote on social media.

“I hope our hundreds of rounds of sparring helped you in some way tonight. I’m proud of you,” added the only eight-division world champion in history.

Kambosos then punched a heart-warming reply, giving Pacquiao credit for shaping him into a  champion.

“Thank you for everything @Manny Pacquiao,” said Kambosos. “The rounds we shared together shaped me to become champion tonight!Thank you, brother.”