The champion vs. champion showdown between WBA (Super), WBO and The Ring lightweight kingpin Vasiliy Lomachenko (14-1, 10 KOs) and IBF titleholder Teofimo Lopez Jr. (15-0, 12 KOs) on Oct. 17 will have 250 fans in attendance, though tickets will not go on sale.
A new easing of COVID-19 restrictions has been passed by Nevada, with 250 people now allowed to attend a live event. Top Rank boss and Lomachenko-Lopez promoter Bob Arum revealed to ESPN that the big fight will be one of the first to do this.
“We’re going to make it available to sponsors, and then give most of the tickets to first responders,” Arum said. “We’re not selling any.”
There is no word at this time exactly how many of the 250 will be handed out to sponsors and how many will be made available to first responders, nor how exactly first responders can apply to receive seats to what could be the fight of a COVID-19 ravaged 2020.
The Oct. 17 card takes place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, which currently has a "bubble" set-up in place, and is one of several Top Rank cards on its fall 2020 schedule to take place on the Vegas strip.
In the 10-round junior welterweight chief support to Lomachenko vs. Lopez, former world title challenger Alex Saucedo meets unbeaten contender Arnold Barboza Jr., while the TV opener pits super middleweight Edgar Berlanga's unblemished and knockout-heavy record against veteran Lanell Bellows over eight rounds. Berlanga has won all 14 of his fights via first-round stoppage.