Lomachenko on Lopez: We'll Compare Our Skill, Our Level, In The Ring
Vasiliy Lomachenko doesn’t dispute the numerous attributes that make Teofimo Lopez a very live underdog entering their much-anticipated fight Saturday night.
The three-division champion acknowledged Lopez’s strengths during a recent virtual press conference. The uniquely skilled Ukrainian southpaw also cautioned that Lopez’s prowess will be tested like never before when they square off in a 12-round, 135-pound title unification fight at MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas.
“We can check it October 17th,” Lomachenko said. “He has a good punch. He has very good speed. He has IQ. He’s young. He’s hungry. But we’ll see. We always can compare our level in the ring, our boxing skill, only when we fight with top fighters.”
As intelligent, skillful and accomplished as Lomachenko is, Lopez is nine years younger, physically bigger and a harder puncher than him. Lopez (15-0, 12 KOs) suggested during a separate virtual press conference that his boxing ability has been underestimated during the buildup toward their fight for Lomachenko’s WBA, WBO and WBC franchise championships and Lopez’s IBF belt.
“I know that I’m gonna beat Lomachenko because I have confidence in myself,” Lopez said. “I’m a young fighter. I have the speed. I have the power. I have the boxing skills. And many people don’t know it, but I’m also a great boxer. I’m not only a power puncher. People seem to think that I’m only that. I’m also very smart in the ring, and people will see that on October 17th.”
The perception of his boxing ability notwithstanding, Lopez’s power appears to be his greatest advantage over Lomachenko (14-1, 10 KOs), who is considered small for the lightweight division.
Lopez pulverized Richard Commey in his last fight, in which Lopez won the IBF lightweight title by second-round knockout December 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Brooklyn’s Lopez dropped Ghana’s Commey with a picture-perfect right hand early in the second round of their scheduled 12-round, 135-pound championship match. Commey commendably attempted to fight out of that trouble once he reached his feet, but Lopez pounced on Commey and forced referee David Fields to stop the action 1:13 into the second round.
Commey (29-3, 26 KOs) hadn’t been knocked out before Lopez stopped him. His first two losses were back-to-back, split-decision defeats to Robert Easter Jr. (22-1-1, 14 KOs) and Denis Shafikov (40-4-2, 20 KOs) in 2016.
ESPN will air Lomachenko-Lopez as the main event of a three-fight telecast.
The broadcast is set to start at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT with an eight-round super middleweight battle between Brooklyn’s Edgar Berlanga (14-0, 14 KOs) and Las Vegas’ Lanell Bellows (20-5-3, 13 KOs, 1 NC). Oklahoma City’s Alex Saucedo (30-1, 19 KOs) and Arnold Barboza Jr. (24-0, 10 KOs), of South El Monte, California, are scheduled to square off in a 10-round junior welterweight bout that’ll immediately precede Lomachenko-Lopez.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
