Tag Archives: Teofimo Lopez

Posted on 11/08/2021

By: Hans Themistode

Teofimo Lopez was in awe as he sat in his ringside seat.

The unified 135-pound titlist was thoroughly impressed as he witnessed history at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, this past weekend. On the night, Canelo Alvarez would go on to solve a trickier than expected puzzle in former IBF super middleweight champion, Caleb Plant. With the win, Alvarez became the first undisputed 168-pound titlist of all time.

With Lopez scheduled to defend his WBA, WBO, and IBF super lightweight world titles against mandatory challenger George Kambosos Jr. on November 27th, the 24-year-old admits that Alvarez has inspired him.

“Canelo man, he’s just on another level,” said Lopez during an interview with Fight Hub TV. “He’s only getting better. This definitely gives me that motivation, even more.”

Alvarez, 31, was viewed as a sizable favorite well before he stepped into the ring against Plant. With the former titlist giving Alvarez all he could handle, Lopez was pleasantly surprised by the way things were playing out. However, as Alvarez began dragging his man into the deep end, Lopez was left amazed as the pound-for-pound star registered the knockout win in the 11th.

“I had it 4-2 halfway into the fight. He won another round, I think about seven or eight but after that, Canelo started adapting more and more.”

Like always, immediately following his victory, Alvarez was afforded all of two seconds to enjoy the results before being peppered with questions surrounding his next possible opponent. Though the Mexican native doesn’t have a clear-cut opponent in mind, he has mentioned facing the likes of Jermall Charlo, David Benavidez, Gennadiy Golovkin, and current unified light heavyweight champion, Artur Beterbiev.

Even with Alvarez admitting that he won’t begin thinking about his next foe until at least January of next year, Lopez believes he knows who would be his most difficult challenge to date.

“I believe Charlo. That fight would definitely be big. Charlo is a dog. He goes out there and wants to make the fight happen. He never backs down. That could be a great fight. That could be a fight where it’s like toe to toe.”

Posted on 11/07/2021

By: Hans Themistode

Teofimo Lopez is extremely proud of what he was able to accomplish late last year.

The 24-year-old New York native walked into his showdown against Vasyl Lomachenko as a considerable underdog. Despite most of the betting world expecting him to come up short, Lopez went on to dominate the early portion of their showdown before ultimately holding on to eke out a close decision win.

At the time, Lomachenko was considered by many to be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. And while Lopez is convinced that he’s now the superior fighter, he also believes that Lomachenko would cause fits to any and everyone at both 130 and 135 pounds.

“Lomachenko would beat up Tank,” said Lopez to a group of reporters. “Lomachenko would devour Devin Haney, Lomacehnko would beat Shakur.”

As Lopez’s comments have made the airwaves, Stevenson has gotten wind. Although the newly crowned 130-pound titlist could have aimed his vitriol at just Lopez, he instead set his sights on both Lopez and Lomachenko.

“Boy you or Loma can’t f with me,” said Stevenson on his social media account. “Don’t put me in no convo.”

Stevenson, a former Olympic silver medalist, is fresh off a career-best performance. Just a few short weeks ago on October 23rd, at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta Georgia, Stevenson ripped away the WBO 130 pound title from former champion, Jamel Herring.

Currently, Stevenson is hoping to add even more gold to his ever-growing collection as he’s targeting a matchup against WBC champion, Oscar Valdez. In addition to a bout against Valdez, Stevenson has expressed a desire to take on Lomachenko as well. However, Stevenson has acknowledged that a showdown between the pair is unlikely with Lomachenko currently campaigning five pounds north.

Although it appears as though Stevenson and Lopez are now at odds, the WBO 130 pound titlist quickly put that narrative to bed.

“He cool peoples. I support him. I’m just telling it like it is.”

Posted on 10/23/2021

By: Hans Themistode

Once upon a time, boxing was considered to be in a golden era. Leading the way were “Sugar” Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, Roberto Duran, and last but certainly not least – Thomas Hearns.

At various points throughout their careers, the four laced up their gloves and fought each other in the ring. More than anything, due to their otherworldly skills and vast accomplishments, they were intrinsically tied together and known as the “Four Kings.”

In today’s day and age, Gervonta Davis, Ryan Garcia, Teofimo Lopez, and Devin Haney are now considered the “Four Kings” of this era. While they’re all viewed as incredibly talented and future ambassadors of the sport, Davis is of the belief that his star power shines brighter than them all.

“The four kings, who can actually draw people?” Questioned Davis to a group of reporters. “Who do they really want to watch? Me. Everybody calls me out because they want money, they want fame.”

On December 5th, later this year, Davis will look to put approximately 20,000 butts in seats when he takes on Rolando “Rolly” Romero at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Presently, Davis is confident that he’ll produce another sold-out event. In the case of his fellow young contemporaries, Davis doubts their ability to pack arenas and sell pay-per-views.

Davis, 26, has particularly taken aim at Teofimo Lopez and his supposed star appeal. The unified 135-pound titlist is currently scheduled to return to the ring one week before Davis on November 27th, at the Hulu Theater in Madison Square Garden in New York City.

News of Lopez headlining an event at the much smaller Hulu Theater, a venue that holds approximately 5,600 fans, as opposed to the Garden’s big room, a locale that hosts upwards of 20,000 people, was laughable to Davis.

In an act to debunk the notion that Lopez is some sort of star, Davis rips into his fellow young rival.

“He can’t even sell tickets. He about to fight in New York and that only holds what? 4,000? Tell him to sell some tickets then holla at me, bum ass n*gga.”

Posted on 10/20/2021

By: Hans Themistode

After several starts and stops, Teofimo Lopez will finally defend his WBO, WBA, and IBF lightweight titles against mandatory challenger George Kambosos Jr. Their contest is now officially set to take place on November 27th, at Hulu Theater in Madison Square Garden.

Both Kambosos Jr. and Lopez have gone back and forth for the past several months with seemingly, no true concrete date to work with. After watching Triller win their purse bid earlier this year, Kambosos Jr. and Lopez sat back and patiently waited for their contest to take place. However, the pair was incredulous about the consistent postponements.

With Kambosos Jr. unwilling to placate the wishes of Triller by moving their fight date once again, the streaming company was ultimately found to be in default. Subsequently, long-time promoter Eddie Hearn, was then given the right to promote their showdown since he originally dished out the second-largest bid.

Although Hearn was thrilled with the news, he struggled with finding an immediate date. Nevertheless, with Ryan Garcia forced off his November 27th encounter against Joseph Diaz due to hand surgery, Hearn has now given the vacant slot to Lopez vs. Kambosos Jr.

Since picking the biggest win of his career against Vasyl Lomachenko in October of 2020, Lopez has sat idly by as his career came to a grinding halt. Needless to say, with reassurance that his contest against Kambosos Jr. will take place next, Lopez is now patiently watching the clock.

“The time has finally come!” said López. “It has been a long wait for Team Takeover. We’ve been in the zone for six months and counting but we’re pleased to be able to finally get this fight on DAZN! The Takeover will show the world once again why we are called ‘The People’s Champ’.”

Posted on 09/05/2021

By: Hans Themistode

Since suffering defeat at the hands of Teofimo Lopez, Vasyl Lomachenko has done everything in his power to get his rival back in the ring.

The two squared off in mid-October, 2020, with three of the four major lightweight world titles on the line. Heading in, Lomachenko was considered the consensus best pound-for-pound boxer in the world and was expected to deal with Lopez with relative ease.

But, after a slow start, Lopez grabbed an insurmountable lead before winning a unanimous decision victory.

Since then, the Ukrainian has hunted down past opponents of Lopez in an attempt to defeat them in more devastating fashion. After stopping Masayoshi Nakatani in the ninth round this past June, an opponent who gave Lopez major issues before eking out a close win in 2019, Lomachenko is rumored to be on track to take on another former Lopez opponent. This time, in Richard Commey.

While Lomachenko is hoping to pick up another win, Lopez isn’t impressed with his former rival facing his hand-me-downs.

“He’s just trying to fight my leftovers,” said Lopez during an interview with Sky Sports Boxing. “He’s trying to come back and redeem himself.”

Although Lopez doesn’t seem all that impressed, Bob Arum, promoter of Lomachenko and Lopez, was pleased with the Ukrainian’s stoppage win over Nakatani. So much so in fact, that Arum is planning to put them back in the ring against one another in the near future.

“We’ll figure it out,” said Arum following Lomachenko’s win. “I think a rematch between Loma and Teofimo on pay-per-view does a lot of business.”

Before a rematch between the two can take place, Lopez still has business to attend to. The unified lightweight titlist is set to take on mandatory challenger, George Kambosos Jr. on October 5th, at the Hulu Theater in New York City’s Madison Square Garden.

Provided he wins, Arum would love nothing more than to begin engineering part two. But while the long-time promoter is salivating over the amount of money that can be made and despite fans around the world wanting to see them run things back once more, Lopez has emphatically rejected the idea that he’ll ever face Lomachenko again.

“It’s kinda cute how everyone thinks he’s going to get me again,” said Lopez. “I’m moving forward, we’re past that. Now we’re looking at bigger and better things like [Josh] Taylor. There’s no rematch. Had I lost, they would’ve never gave me the opportunity at all. Why do I have to give it to them? I’m not doing that.”

Posted on 08/23/2021

By: Hans Themistode

Teofimo Lopez was adamant that he would not be traveling to the backyard of IBF mandatory challenger George Kambosos Jr., to defend his lightweight world titles. Lopez, 24, was so headstrong in his decision in fact, that he threatened to drop the IBF title entirely. Now, after a lengthy battle, he should be ultimately happy with the results.

For the first title defense of his unified career, Lopez will take on Kambosos Jr. at the Hulu Theater in New York’s Madison Square Garden on October 5th.

According to Mike Coppinger of ESPN, who first reported the news, Ryan Kavanaugh of Triller has reportedly sent out contracts to both parties.

“We’re really excited about it: Tuesday night boxing in New York,” said Kavanaugh.”

As specified by Kavanaugh, Lopez vs. Kambosos Jr. will be available for purchase through FITE for $19.99. Or, if fans aren’t too pleased with dishing out that sort of cash, they’ll have the secondary option of seeing the fight through a monthly Triller subscription plan of $2.99.

Over the past few months, their showdown has suffered through numerous starts and stops. Originally, the plan was for Lopez to take on Kambosos Jr. in Miami Florida on June 5th. They then choose to move off the date entirely due to the high-profile mega event between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Logan Paul.

Once their contest was rescheduled, they ran into another issue, as Lopez tested positive for COVID-19. With the two now on the verge of facing off, Lopez will look to begin his reign as a unified champion.

The pugnacious knockout artist, added both the WBA and WBO titles, as well as the ever confusing WBC “Franchise” title to his collection with a win over Vasyl Lomachenko late last year. Kambosos Jr., 28, worked his way to the number one ranking in the IBF sanctioning body due to a split decision win over former titlist, Lee Selby in October of 2020.

Posted on 07/30/2021

By: Hans Themistode

Vasyl Lomachenko is reportedly ready to return to the ring before the year comes to an end.

According to Dan Rafael, formerly with ESPN, Lomachenko is slated to face off against Richard Commey on December 11th. As of now, no venue has been officially disclosed.

For Lomachenko, the Ukrainian sat back and listened as his pound-for-pound credentials were constantly questioned. With Teofimo Lopez dethroning him in October of 2020, there was an overwhelming belief that the former two-time Olympic gold medalist had seen better days. In his showdown against Lopez, Lomachenko fought lethargically in the first half before dominating down the stretch.

Since then, the 33-year-old attempted to secure a rematch with his loquacious rival, something that was originally denied. In an effort to prove that he was worthy of a second shot against Lopez and eager to demonstrate that he was still one of boxing’s best, Lomachenko dominated highly rated contender, Masayoshi Nakatani. The two faced off this past June at the Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas, Nevada. Although the Japanese native carried several physical advantages, Lomachenko dominated the action, dropping him multiple times before ultimately stopping him.

He’ll now look to make it two in a row when he takes on Commey. The former IBF lightweight belt holder saw his title reign come to an abrupt end, ironically enough, also at the hands of Teofimo Lopez.

In December of 2019, after a fairly even first round between the pair, Lopez landed a monstrous right hand that immediately sent Commey to the mat. While he would beat the count, referee David Fields would eventually call a halt to their contest just a few seconds later.

With his world title taken away from him, Commey would take more than a year off before making his return. This past February, the Bronx New York, resident walked through fringe contender Jackson Marinez, stopping him in the sixth round.

Both Commey and Lomachenko will look towards title shots in 2022 with a definitive win come December 11th.

Posted on 07/06/2021

By: Hans Themistode

Like most, Jorge Linares was completely taken aback with what took place when Vasiliy Lomachenko and Teofimo Lopez squared off late last year. Having shared the ring with the Ukrainian, Linares expected the pound-for-pound star to take care of business against his explosive, yet inexperienced opponent.

Those thoughts, however, simply didn’t come to fruition as Lopez went on to dominate the first half of their contest before holding on down the stretch for a unanimous decision victory.

From the moment Lopez was handed the win, Lomachenko claimed that he should have, in fact, been announced the winner or, at the very least, been given a draw. He immediately asked for a rematch but was denied by the 23-year-old. Instead of continuing to pursue a rematch with Lopez by using his words, Lomachenko figured that the best way to get his rival back into the ring was by sending him a violent message.

Just a few weeks ago, Lomachenko made his return by taking on the highly-rated Masayoshi Nakatani. While the Japanese fighter gave Lopez all he could handle in a losing effort in 2019, Lomachenko ran right through him, stopping him in the ninth round. That performance has Linares not only believing that Lomachenko vs. Lopez 2 is likely next but also, that this time around, the outcome could be completely different.

“I think he can have the rematch with Lopez,” said Linares during an interview with SnowQueenLA. “I think this time, Lopez can lose the fight.”

Although Linares came up short in his bid to dethrone Lomachenko in 2018, the Venezuelan product floored his man in the sixth round and fought him tooth and nail. Unfortunately for Linares, however, his efforts weren’t enough as he ultimately succumbed to a 10th round body shot.

The loss for Linares may have been difficult to swallow but he watched from afar as Lomachenko continued to win fight after fight. What Linares believes he noticed though, was that while Lomachenko was continuing to rack up the wins, he didn’t look quite as dominant.

To the Ukrainian though, his lackluster performances against Lopez and others had nothing to do with whom he was fighting. Instead, it had everything to do with an injured right shoulder. He’s since gone under the knife and by all accounts, appears to be back to his old dominant self.

The performance of Lomachenko not only impressed Linares but also promoter Bob Arum and father of Lopez in Teofimo Lopez Sr.

“I wasn’t thinking about Lomachenko in the past,” said Lopez Sr. after watching Lomachenko stop Nakatani. “But after this performance, I think that the public wants to see this fight. I think I can convince my son to fight him again.”

Before any rematch can be made, Lopez first has to deal with mandatory challenger, George Kambosos Jr. The two had their original bout re-scheduled due to Lopez contracting COVID-19 and will now face off on August 14th.

In the mind of most, Lopez is expected to take care of business against the undefeated Australian native. Should that happen, all roads to Lomachenko vs. Lopez 2 are now clear. If the two do in fact, step into the ring again, Linares warns Lopez of a completely different Lomachenko for their sequel.

“Now, Lomachenko is back.”

Posted on 06/27/2021

By: Hans Themistode

Teofimo Lopez Sr. always believed that despite the naysayers, his son, Teofimo Lopez, would get the job done against Vasiliy Lomachenko. The two clashed in mid-October last year in a lightweight unification bout.

To the surprise of many, Lopez walked away with the decisive win. Since then, Lopez Sr. has shown little to no interest in placing his son in a rematch with Lomachenko regardless of the Ukrainian claiming that he wasn’t 100% due to an injured shoulder. In the mind of Lopez Sr., he was simply convinced that Lomachenko was on the downslide in his career and part two would be even less competitive. However, after watching Lomachenko dismantle, toy and ultimately stop highly rated contender Masayoshi Nakatani, Lopez Sr. is now willing to run things back.

“I wasn’t thinking about Lomachenko in the past,” said Lopez Sr. as he spoke to promoter Bob Arum after the fight. “But after this performance, I think that the public wants to see this fight. I think I can convince my son to fight him again.”

Lomachenko, 33, aimed to make a statement last night at the Virgins Hotel, in Las Vegas, Nevada. While the pound-for-pound star could have opted for a light touch for his comeback opponent as he was coming off shoulder surgery, he instead set his sights on Nakatani. Not only did he choose the Japanese product because he respects his skill set but also because he had a plan in place.

In July of 2019, Nakatani gave Lopez all he could handle at the MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland. Although Lopez would eventually win via wide unanimous decision, it was by far the most difficult night of Lopez’s young career. To prove that he could win if given another chance, Lomachenko believed that if he defeated Nakatani decisively, it would place him in the driver’s seat for a rematch with Lopez.

By all accounts, the plan of Lomachenko appears to be going exactly the way he envisioned it. But before he steps into the ring with Lopez again, the unified lightweight titlist has some business to attend to as mandatory challenger George Kambosos Jr. is next on his list. The two were originally scheduled to face off in mid-June. But, due to a positive COVID-19 test result produced by Lopez, their showdown has been moved to mid-August.

For Lopez Sr., once his son has fully recovered from the deadly disease, he’ll easily take care of Kambosos Jr. Then from there, both he and Arum can begin negotiations for Lopez vs. Lomachenko II.

“After Kambosos it can be made,” said Lopez Sr. “It’s going to be the biggest fight in the world. We can make it happen in December in the Madison Square Garden. I gotta talk to him.”

Posted on 06/26/2021

By: Hans Themistode

Bob Arum is a busy man. The long-time headman over at Top Rank is currently prepping for tonight’s showdown between Vasiliy Lomachenko and Masayoshi Nakatani. He’s also promoting the highly anticipated heavyweight showdown between WBC/Ring magazine titlist, Tyson Fury and former belt holder Deontay Wilder.

Amongst other things, Arum is also hard at work as he attempts to build former Olympic silver medalist Shakur Stevenson into a star. While Arum may have a full plate of responsibilities, one thing that certainly will no longer entertain is a possible showdown between his fighter, current WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford, and unified titlist, Errol Spence Jr.

For a number of years now, fans have held out hope that the two would finally enter the ring against one another to end the debate surrounding who is the best fighter at 147 pounds. Yet, after Spence Jr.’s most recent comments, Arum is now firmly of the belief that their clash simply will never come to pass.

“I most likely have two more fights at 147,” said Spence Jr. during a recent interview on Barbershop Conversations. “I’m going to go across the street [to Top Rank] to see what they’re talking about [for a potential Crawford fight]. If they are not talking about nothing, I’m moving up to 154. After the (Manny Pacquiao) Pacman fight hopefully we can make something happen.”

With Spence Jr. and Pacquiao set to face off on August 21st at the T-Mobile Arena, Arum is fully convinced that it will be the last time anyone sees the Dallas native competing at 147 pounds.

“Forget the Spence thing,” said Arum to a group of reporters. “Spence knows he can’t beat Crawford and he’s going to go up in weight after the Pacquiao fight, so forget that.”

With Spence Jr. seemingly off the table for good, Arum has turned his immediate attention to his current stable of fighters. For the most part, fans have grown somewhat tired of watching Crawford compete against the competition available to him at Top Rank. While fans have become enamored with possible matchups for Crawford against the likes of Spence Jr., Keith Thurman, Danny Garcia, Shawn Porter, Yordenis Ugas and several others – all of those aforementioned names are currently associated with Premier Boxing Champions (PBC). And to this date, Arum has continued to have his issues with them in terms of working out fight agreements.

Whether Arum can work something out with PBC or not is ultimately inconsequential. In his opinion, he has the two biggest fights for Crawford, both now and in the not so distant future.

“Crawford’s biggest fight out there is Josh Taylor and Teofimo (Lopez) moving up,” explained Arum.

In the case of Taylor, following his win against Jose Ramirez a few weeks ago, the British native became the first undisputed champion at 140 pounds since Crawford accomplished the feat in 2017. He hasn’t shied away from the possibility of facing Crawford either but in terms of timing, Arum views that matchup as a real possibility in 2022.

As for Lopez, the unified 135-pound champion is seemingly years away from fighting at 147 pounds. He has, however, shown a clear interest in moving up to 140 pounds to face Taylor.

While Arum continues to discuss the future of Crawford, he is slowly turning his attention to the here and now. The former three-division titlist hasn’t stepped foot inside the ring since November of 2020 when he took on former belt holder, Kell Brook. Crawford made it look incredibly easy on the night, stopping the long-faded former champion in the fourth round. With regard to what could be next for Crawford, Arum revealed that they are currently going over several names.

“I have no idea. His people are now sorting through. There are plenty of good candidates. Welterweight, Jr welterweight, we’ll come up with the best possible opponent.”

Posted on 06/24/2021

By: Hans Themistode

Vasyl Lomachenko still has a hard time processing what exactly happened.

After reigning on top of the boxing world as the consensus number one fighter for years, Lomachenko was expected to take care of business relatively easily against Teofimo Lopez. The two matched up in a unification showdown in mid-October last year.

Despite the long odds, Lopez thoroughly outboxed his man early on before eking out a close unanimous decision victory. The mere thought of Lopez holding a win over the Ukrainian irritates him to no end. While Lopez has already gone on record stating that he has no intention of giving Lomachenko a rematch, the former multiple division champion is still hungry for it. Still, although he’s made his feelings clear, Lomachenko would much rather take care of business this Saturday before discussing what could possibly be next.

“I have a fight this Saturday night,” said Lomachenko during a press conference earlier today. “After we can talk about a rematch but of course, the world knows, I want this fight again.”

The fight that Lomachenko alludes to, figures to be a big challenge for the former back-to-back Olympic gold medalist as the highly rated Masayoshi Nakatani steps into the ring against him this Saturday night at the Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas, Nevada. Recently, the Japanese star picked himself up off the deck on multiple occasions to stop Felix Verdejo.

At the moment, the betting public is firmly backing Lomachenko as he’s currently pegged as a substantial favorite. Regardless of those odds, the Ukrainian will be facing an uphill battle as Nakatani has a four-inch height and six-inch reach advantage.

But while Nakatani’s imposing dimensions would worry most fighters in the division, Lomachenko appears unafraid of what he’s up against this Saturday night.

Heading into his showdown against Lopez, Lomachenko was lambasted for his refusal to throw many punches in the first half of the fight. He would eventually find his rhythm in the second half but it was a case of too little too late. With the chance to somewhat wipe away the stain from his latest performance, Lomachenko is determined to show that his loss against Lopez was nothing more than an aberration.

“I want to show my best skill and show who I am.”

Posted on 06/01/2021

By: Steven Galeano

WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney took a significant step toward divisional supremacy Saturday night after defeating former three-division world champion Jorge Linares. Haney faced adversity after being visibly hurt at the end of round 10, yet showed veteran tactics to survive and preserve a unanimous decision to defend his world title. The three judges scored the bout – 116-112, 116-112, 115-113, all for Haney.

Is Haney (26-0, 15 KOs) the best lightweight in the world right now?

No.

Unified champion Teofimo Lopez (16-0, 12 KOs) owns that notion, and many would not debate such a topic. Vasyl Lomachenko (14-2, 10 KOs), is still the second best lightweight, despite losing his world titles to Lopez in October of 2020. For whatever reason, Lomachenko is seemingly a forgotten man in the division, yet he is still second best after being number one since entering the division in 2018.

Haney deservedly is number three after his big win over Linares (47-6, 29 KOs). Whether you consider Gervonta Davis (24-0, 23 KOs) a lightweight, definitely shakes up this list. With Davis’ last fight taking place at super featherweight, and his next fight taking place at super lightweight, he will currently be left out of the list.

Haney proved himself to be a world-class operator, outclassing Linares in a way fans are not accustomed to seeing. The masterclass was largely overlooked by the end of round 10 when Linares badly hurt Haney before the bell rang, as Haney stumbled to the corner. Haney smartly held for the next two rounds, much to the dismay of fans.

Most in the boxing world are clamoring to see Haney face-off with Lopez, largely to clear up the confusion regarding whether Lopez is truly undisputed. That is another topic to discuss separately. Haney firmly staked himself as the third best lightweight in the world and the Linares win only further justified his placement. The victory, however, was not nearly enough to place him higher than Lomachenko, considering Lomachenko knocked out a more formidable version of Linares in 10 rounds back in 2018. To place himself as number one or two, he will need to secure an opportunity against Lopez or Lomachenko, two fights that will cause great debates in regards to who will win.

Haney defeating Linares was a great step, as boxing fans have been requesting Haney and promoter Eddie Hearn to step up his level of competition. His method of winning the WBC title was controversial, yet his victory over Linares was the sort of signature victory that erased all doubts of his championship mettle.

Haney proved he is an elite talent, and the next step is simply to continue fighting the best possible contenders. The top fights in the division will not be easy to make, yet fans hope to see them come to fruition soon enough. As his profile continues to grow, fans will put more pressure to see the top fights happen before the appeal fades.

Posted on 05/26/2021

By: Hans Themistode

Vasiliy Lomachenko continues to say he was robbed. The former three-division champion lost all of his lightweight world titles at the hands of Teofimo Lopez in October of 2020.

Heading in, the Ukrainian was viewed as the heavy favorite. Yet, it was his reluctance to throw punches during the first half of the fight that allowed Lopez to jump out to an insurmountable lead. With roughly half a year to process what happened, Lomachenko is convinced that their contest should have been ruled a draw. At this point for Lopez, he can’t help but chuckle.

“I can just laugh about it that’s all,” said Lopez to a group of reporters during a virtual press conference. “Lomachenko is in the past now. At the end of the day, I took his heart. Even if we were to fight again, I’ll knock him out.”

For both Lopez and Lomachenko, neither fighter has grown an interest in shaking the other’s hand. The two spent most of the build-up to their fight antagonizing the other. Even with 12 rounds of swapping fists, the beef between them doesn’t appear to be over.

Still, while Lopez is attempting to put Lomachenko in the rearview mirror, he does credit the pound-for-pound star for one thing.

“Fighting that caliber of fighter has elevated me to a whole other level.”

Lopez, 23, is currently just a few weeks away from defending his lightweight world titles against mandatory challenger George Kambosos Jr. on June 19th. In the case of Lomachenko, he’ll look to move past his unexpected defeat as he takes on Masayoshi Nakatani one week later on June 26th.

Although Lopez says he’s fully focused on the task at hand, he believes he knows why Lomachenko seemingly can’t get over the loss. As an amateur, Lomachenko is widely regarded as the best ever as he racked up 396 wins and only one defeat. In addition to that, he also has two Olympic gold medals. In the pro ranks, Lomachenko has been equally impressive. At the moment, the Ukrainian is the fastest male in boxing history to win world titles in three separate weight classes.

Considering the massive amount of success he’s experienced throughout his boxing lifespan, Lopez believes the loss he inflicted is simply a tough pill to swallow.

“With Lomachenko, he’s just somebody that took an ass whopping and he doesn’t know how to handle it right.”

Posted on 05/23/2021

By: Hans Themistode

A euphoric feeling immediately swept over Josh Taylor last night. The 30-year-old Scotland native packed up his bags, kissed his family and friends goodbye and headed to America to take on Jose Ramirez in an undisputed title fight at the Virgins Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The time away from his loved ones paid off as Taylor dropped Ramirez twice en route to becoming undisputed at 140 pounds. While most of the boxing world watched for entertainment, Teofimo Lopez observed from ringside with a more purposeful reason. With 135 pounds becoming increasingly difficult to make, Lopez has stated on numerous occasions that he fully intends on moving up in weight to challenge the winner of last night’s showdown to become a two-time undisputed champion.

Having taken care of business against all comers, Taylor has no issue with facing Lopez. But, first things first, he believes the young star has one thing left to do in his current weight class.

“He’s got to take care of business at lightweight and actually become undisputed at lightweight first,” said Taylor during an interview with FightHype.com.

From the moment Lopez defeated Vasiliy Lomachenko in October of 2020, massive confusion has ensued. When the two faced off in The Bubble at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, Lopez held the IBF 135 pound title. As for Lomachenko, he was in possession of the Ring Magazine, WBA, WBO and WBC “Franchise” titles.

Shortly after winning the WBC belt from Luke Campbell in August of 2019, then interim titlist Devin Haney attempted to pursue a showdown with Lomachenko. With the Ukrainian more interested in facing Lopez, Mauricio Sulaiman, President of the WBC sanctioning body, stripped Lomachenko of his world title and instead, created the ever confusing “Franchise” tag. In turn, Haney became the full belt holder.

Despite the perplexity of the situation, Lopez has continued to claim that he is the undisputed lightweight champion. In the mind of Taylor, however, he simply isn’t.

“He’s a great fighter,” continued Taylor. “Great talent but he’s got some stuff to do at lightweight.”

With a showdown against Lopez seemingly off the table for now, Taylor isn’t interested in naming anyone who could be possibly next for him.

After traveling to America mostly by his lonesome due to COVID-19 travel restrictions in the UK, Taylor merely wants to rest. Although he’s ecstatic about becoming an undisputed champion, he won’t allow himself to get complacent. Considering his name is unquestionably at the top of the division, he’s fully aware that he’ll have to take his training methods to a whole other level.

“All the years of hard work and dedication have paid off. I’m at the top now but I have a big target on my big. The hard work continues.”

Posted on 05/13/2021

By: Hans Themistode

Even at the crack of dawn, the sound of a fist hitting a heavy bag can be heard. Undisputed lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez refuses to leave the gym at times. The 23-year-old Brooklyn, New York native is currently in the midst of training camp as he prepares to take on mandatory challenger George Kambosos Jr. Although their contest is set to take place on June 19th, at LoanDepot Park in Miami, Florida, Lopez has spent the past few months working on his craft.

The goal, ultimately, is to not only take care of business next month but to do so in such devastating fashion, that the rest of the competition will want to eschew from him.

“What I’m trying to do is perfect my craft as much as possible, where I look so invincible that come June 19th, all of these 135-pound guys in my division are quiet,” said Lopez during an interview with Fight Hub TV. “They don’t want to fight Teofimo because of what he just did.”

For the majority of his young career, Lopez looked impressive. Yet, he took his game to an entirely other level in his most recent performance. In mid-October late last year, Lopez took on who many believed was the number one fighter in the world in Vasiliy Lomachenko. While most gave Lopez little to no chance of actually pulling off the win, the hard-hitting New Yorker blocked out the outside noise as he walked away with a close but clear unanimous decision victory.

The win for Lopez reportedly did more than just allow him to become the youngest undisputed champion of all time. More than anything, it elevated his confidence to a whole other stratosphere.

“I’m the best in the world man. The Lomachenko fight elevated me. When you fight the best and beat the best, you learn something from that fighter.”

With his self-belief through the roof, Lopez is determined to make a statement come June 19th, even going as far as to say that he’ll stop Kambosos Jr. in three rounds or less. Regardless of his bravado, Lopez claims that he’s taking his man as serious as possible.

“It’s a different style. He’s a less experienced guy but still knows what he’s doing in the ring. You can’t just overlook someone.”