Teofimo Lopez (17-1, 13 KOs) wore down and stopped the game but limited power-wise Pedro Campa (34-2-1, 23 KOs) in his debut at 140 on Saturday night at the Resorts World in Las Vegas.
In the seventh, Teofimo knocked the weary Campa down with a couple of solid shots. After Campa got back up, Teofimo continued to unload on him until the referee had no choice but to step in and stop the fight. The time of the stoppage was at 2:14 of the round.
In the final barrage of punches, Teofimo got away with three rabbit punches that he landed behind the head of Campa. Those punches, more than anything, are what caused him to stop throwing back.
Teofimo was doing a lot of necessary showboating during the fight, particularly in the seventh round after he hurt Campa. All the showboating was necessary,n and perhaps delayed the fight being halted because Teofimo was clowning too much.
The Top Rank-promoted former unified lightweight champion Teofimo looked rusty through the first five rounds, trying hard to knock out the 31-year-old Campa with single shots. Campa took advantage of Teofimo’s focus on his power game by countering him and outworking him.
“We want Josh Taylor, we want Prograis, we want Zepeda, and we want all the belts; that’s what we want” said Teofimo after the fight.
“We want to become a two-time undisputed world champion,” Teofimo continued. “If Josh Taylor is too busy with his wedding and there’s nobody else around because the WBA belt is taken and the WBC is going to be fought against Zepeda and Prograis.
“I’ll take all those boys and take their dreams away. I’m here to be their nightmare,” said Teofimo.
To be fair, the way Teofimo looked tonight, he’d lose to Jose Zepeda, Regis Prograis, and Jose Ramirez. Teofimo’s power didn’t carry up with him from the 135-lb division, and he’s still just as easy to hit as he was at lightweight.
It would be better for Teofimo to try and pursue a fight against Ryan Garcia rather than fighting for a belt against the killers in the light welterweight division because he’s NOT ready.
