LAS VEGAS – Teofimo Lopez readily acknowledges Vasiliy Lomachenko’s skills and accomplishments.
The Brooklyn native intends to show Saturday night, however, that the three-division world champion isn’t best suited to thrive in the lightweight division. Lopez is convinced Lomachenko belongs at junior lightweight, or even featherweight, the two divisions within which Lomachenko won world titles before he moved up to the lightweight limit of 135 pounds early in 2018.
Lomachenko is 4-0 as a lightweight. Lopez still considers Lomachenko’s debut in the division – an eventual 10th-round stoppage of Jorge Linares in May 2018 – evidence that the Ukrainian southpaw should’ve stayed at 130 pounds.
Linares landed a straight right hand that knocked down Lomachenko late in the sixth round. Venezuela’s Linares also led Lomachenko on one scorecard entering the 10th round, when Lomachenko landed a perfectly placed body shot that prevented Linares from getting up before referee Ricky Gonzalez counted to 10.
“He’s better off at 130 or 126,” Lopez told BoxingScene.com. “I think that 135 is too heavy for him. I think that he’s too sluggish at 135. But let’s see, man. Let’s see what this whole one-year rest does for him.
The 32-year-old Lomachenko (14-1, 10 KOs) last fought late in August 2019. He soundly defeated England’s Luke Campbell (20-3, 16 KOs) in that 12-round bout to win the then-vacant WBC lightweight title at O2 Arena in London.
The 23-year-old Lopez (15-0, 12 KOs) will end a shorter layoff than Lomachenko when they meet in a 12-round, 135-pound title unification fight at MGM Grand Conference Center (ESPN; 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT). Lopez last fought December 14, when he dropped and stopped Ghana’s Richard Commey (29-3, 26 KOs) in the second round to win the IBF belt at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Lopez’s impressive victory over Commey was supposed to lead to a showdown with Lomachenko on May 30 at Madison Square Garden. It was postponed for 4½ months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Lopez promised he’ll do what he predicted all along.
“I don’t care what he feels and how he thinks,” Lopez said. “I think he’s in it for a big fight. His main goal is this, right here. [Becoming a fully unified champion is] what he’s always dreamed of doing. And he decided to do it at 135. But this is my weight class, man. This is my throne. We’re gonna send him back to 130. That’s where he can finish it off.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.