Manny Pacquiao lauded his pal and Aussie boxer George Kambosos Jr. for pulling off an upset win against Teofimo Lopez in their lightweight unification bout at the Madison Square Garden in New York Saturday, Nov. 27 (Sunday in Manila).
Taking it to social media, Pacquiao extended his congratulations to Kambosos for becoming the IBF, WBO, WBA, and The Ring lightweight world champion.
"Congratulations to my friend, @georgekambosos, on an epic win! You helped me in so many of my past fights, I hope our hundreds of rounds of sparring helped you in some way tonight. I’m proud of you," wrote Pacquiao on Twitter.
The 28-year-old Kambosos scored a 115-112, 115-112, 113-114 split decision win over Lopez with his aggressive stance to remain undefeated in 20 matches on top of 10 knockouts.
With the win, Kambosos joined the ranks of regular WBA champion Gervonta Davis, WBC titleholder Devin Haney, and WBC interim titlist Joseph Diaz at the top of the lightweight division.
Pacquiao and Kambosos were former sparring mates back when the Filipino boxing legend faced another Aussie boxer in Jeff Horn in July 2017.
Pacquiao lost to a controversial unanimous decision against Horn that year despite the ninth round punishment of the fighting senator, which almost ended up in a stoppage.