By Ryan Burton
Blue chip lightweight prospect Teofimo Lopez (10-0) made the most of his showcase fight when he stopped Willian Silva (25-2) in 6 rounds on July 14th.
The fight served as the chief supporting bout to the Regis Prograis-Juan Jose Velasco ESPN televised main event. Silva's only other loss was a decision loss to Felix Verdejo.
The victory was Lopez's third of the year and the 2016 Olympian appeared to be on the fast track to a world title.
However, there was a bit of bad news though as Lopez suffered a fracture in his right hand during the fight that required surgery.
"We saw what I was doing. I broke his nose in the first round before I hurt my hand and now I am working more with my left hand so my left hand is going to be even stronger," said Lopez.
The soon be 21-year-old had his surgery performed by Dr. Steven Shin in Los Angeles and promises that he will come back stronger than ever.
“They said that I can start using my right hand again in October and that I can get back in the ring in late November or December. I believe that I will be back in the ring in December at Madison Square Garden," Lopez told BoxingScene.com.
Even thought he only has 10 professional fights under his belt, Lopez is targeting a world title shot in 2019. His promoter Top Rank currently promoter two of the division's titleholders - Vasyl Lomachenko and Ray Beltran.
Lomachenko who holds the WBA title and is planning to return to the ring in December and Beltran who has the WBO title and faces Jose Pedraza on August 25th in Phoenix.
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