Vasiliy Lomachenko (14-1, 10 KOs) will be risking his WBA/WBC/WBO lightweight titles when he faces IBF champion Teofimo Lopez (15-0, 12 KOs) in a unification clash in mid to late October of this year.
The contracts for the Lomachenko vs. Teofimo fight will be signed on Thursday, according to Top Rank promoter Bob Arum.
Lomachenko helped get the deal done
The 32-year-old Lomachenko helped get the fight with the 23-year-old Teofimo done by giving some of his purse to him to get him to agree to take the match.
Teofimo wanted a better deal than the one that was initially offered to him by his promoters at Top Rank, so Lomachenko made a move to get the match done.
The Lomachenko-Lopez fight is taking place behind closed doors, which is the reason why Teofimo wasn’t offered more money.
With the fight taking place on regular ESPN, there won’t be pay-per-view revenue to pump up the fighters’ purses. Lomachenko was okay with his offer, but Teofimo needed an increase from the rumored $1.2 million he was offered.
“It’s not done [until] the contracts are signed, I’m not being an alarmist or so forth, but I made the deal with David [McWater, the manager of Lopez]. We’ve got to paper the deal, which will be done tomorrow,” said arum to ESPN.com.
Arum getting the fight he wants
Lomachenko-Lopez is the fight that Arum has wanted to put together for a longest, and now he finally is about to have the contest signed. Hopefully, it lives up to the enormous expectations that Arum and many boxing fans have about the match-up.
The odds-makers will likely install the two-time Olympic gold medalist as a big favorite to win, but Teofimo can’t be counted out due to his power, size, speed, and youth. Teofimo is the natural lightweight, and some would say, he’s a natural 140-pounders.
The physical attribute that Lopez will be bringing to the ring in October will give him a shot at beating Lomachenko.
Lomachenko, 32, has done a lot more in the pro and amateur ranks than Teofimo, and it’s going to be tough for the young upstart to beat him unless he can knock him out.
No one expects Teofimo to be able to beat a talented fighter like Lomachenko by a decision. That’s not to say that Teofimo can’t win the fight, but it’s going to be very difficult because he doesn’t have the same boxing ability.
Teofimo is coming off of a 2nd round knockout victory over IBF 135-lb champion Richard Commey last December at Madison Square Garden in New York. A lot of boxing fans thought Teofimo would lose that fight too, but his power carried him to victory.
