Well, we can’t say Teofimo Lopez didn’t tell us what he was going to do. For the longest time, the unbeaten 23 year old said, again and again, how he would not only defeat Vasyl Lomachenko, for many the best fighter on the planet pound-for-pound, but that he would “take over” the sport. Last night, courtesy of his quite brilliant decision victory over a shocked Lomachenko, Lopez achieved phase-one.
There was no KO, and neither was there anything close to a quit job on the part of Lopez (four previous fighters had quit against Loma and as such the possibility of this happening again was not out of the realms; but no, Lopez made any such thinking to be nothing but an insult). Instead, Lopez, a beast of a 135 pounder, pressed Loma, he bullied him some and he out-fought AND outboxed the southpaw master.
It was as brilliant as it was refreshing, seeing a man do exactly what he said he was going to do (minus scoring the KO). Lopez is now THE man at lightweight, he is one of the biggest stars in all of boxing and we fans cannot wait to see how much more this particular Brooklyn-born warrior can go on to achieve. Now 16-0(12) and holder of all those belts, Lopez’s future fights promise to be big events, big occasions.
Whether he stays at lightweight or moves up a division or two (Lopez has said he can and will become world champ at 135, 140 and 147; and in light of what he did last night, who are we to doubt him?) – Lopez will have all the fans tuning in to watch him. A most mature and cool-headed fighter in the ring at just 23 years of age, Lopez seems to have it all: power, stamina, chin, boxing ability, ability to stick to the game-plan. Can anyone beat him?
At 135, Devin Haney is waiting, while up at 140 and, in time, 147, who knows what super-fights Lopez might engage in. For now, though, Teofimo Lopez is king of the world. Just like he told us all he would be. If YOU doubted him, will you ever do so again? I must confess, I felt Lomachenko would get the win last night, most likely via decision. With last night’s unanimous decision victory, Lopez sure proved a whole lot of people wrong!
