After beating Richard Commey to claim the IBF lightweight title in December 2019, plans were immediately put in place for Teofimo Lopez to face unified 135lb king Vasiliy Lomachenko the following April in a fight which would see two of the best in the division go head-to-head.
A bout pitting the best against the best are notoriously difficult to make in boxing, but Top Rank managed to pull it off before COVID-19 engulfed the world and put boxing on hold.
As the sweet science slowly began to regain its footing in the summer of 2020, it was vital that the some of the biggest promoters put on entertaining fights to generate fan interest once more and Bob Arum’s Top Rank managed to do that by re-scheduling Lomachenko vs. Lopez for October 17th, 2020 inside the MGM Grand Las Vegas bubble, albeit after a pay dispute between the two camps.
If this fight was being staged in either Madison Square Garden, the Staples Center or a venue of that stature, fans would have snapped up tickets in an instant, but at a time where sporting events were having to take place behind closed doors, many were thankful that fights of this magnitude could be made without any income from gate receipts. In the end only a small number of corporate sponsors and first-responders were given complimentary tickets to the event.
Fight night arrived and while Lopez would certainly pose a tough test for the highly decorated Ukrainian, many predicted Lomachenko would be the victor in a fight which was some claimed was too early in the young American’s career.
Once the first bell rang, Lopez wasn’t showing the three-weight champion any respect. The IBF title holder got the jab going straight away and took advantage of Lomachenko’s famed slow start, this wasn’t anything out of the ordinary for the Ukrainian who often spends the opening rounds downloading information and working out his opponent.
Lomachenko is a fighter who often relies on rhythm when trying to get the better of his opponents, however the calm and relaxed Lopez never allowed the two-time Olympic gold medallist to settle.
When speaking on DAZN’s Off the Cuff, Lopez said the following when recalling the fight against Lomachenko.
“You can look back on the Lomachenko fight, me and him are dipping at the same time because it’s a rhythm. I’m catching his rhythm; I’m starting to figure out what he’s doing and dissecting the matrix.”
This was evident throughout the hard-hitting 12 rounds. Lopez mirrored Lomachenko’s movements along with working the body. From the second round the effects of Lopez’s body work were becoming visible on his opponent’s left rib.
At the end of the fifth Lopez had thrown 174 punches compared to Lomachenko’s 40 who at the halfway point went on the offensive.
The three-weight world champion closed the distance with Lopez; however, the American’s speed was still proving a problem with the two engaging in an accidental headbutt in the eighth. This round also turned out to be Lomachenko’s best yet after a left hand rocked Lopez who was showing signs of tiredness.
The IBF champion looked to make sure that Lomachenko could not take advantage of this dip in energy by pushing the Ukrainian back whenever he tried to work on the inside, but while this was strategy was working, Lopez began to neglect throwing shots to the body.
With the fight entering the final stages and the two men seemingly being separated by the barest of margins on the judges’ scorecards, shots began flying left, right and centre as they looked to land the decisive blows which could swing the contest in their favour.
The final bell rang, and it was safe to say the fight lived up to its billing. Both Lomachenko and Lopez left it all in the ring, but it was Lopez who was crowned the undisputed lightweight champion after convincing scores of 116-112, 119-109 and 117-111.
This win made Lopez an instant superstar and the decision was one which many cannot criticise. His team executed the perfect game plan, taking advantage of Lomachenko’s early lack of urgency, not showing the Ukrainian any respect and inflicting enough damage to disrupt his rhythm.
A victory of this magnitude should’ve opened up the boxing world for Lopez, unification fights and huge contests at super lightweight were all being talked about, but first he had the small matter of a mandatory IBF title defence against Australia’s George Kambosos Jr.
This was a fight which should have been relatively easy to make, however as always with boxing, nothing ever runs smoothly. First of all, the fight went to purse bids last February and saw social media platform Triller come out on top with a $6m+ bid. This was seen as a major statement of intent by one of the new faces on the block, however, numerous date and venue changes, COVID quarantine rules and disputes between the two fighters led to some doubting whether the fight would actually happen.
Then, just last month the IBF stripped Triller of the rights to stage the fight and gave them to the second highest bidder, Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom.
Now after 13 months of chaos and frustration, Lopez can finally begin his quest to become a pound for pound great, starting off with a statement win against Kambosos Jr. this coming Saturday exclusively live on DAZN.