May 30th was the date reserved for WBA/WBO/WBC Franchise lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko (14-1) to face IBF champion Teofimo Lopez (15-0) in a unification showdown in New York at the Madison Square Garden. The fight would headline a card on one of ESPN's platforms.
A new date and potentially different venue won't be known until the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic has subsided.
The 22-year-old Lopez recently held a Q&A chat with fans on Reddit.com where he discussed the Lomachenko fight and other topics.
There certain isn't any love lost between Lopez and Lomachenko but Lopez says that he does indeed respect the two-time Olympic gold medal winner.
"We have the same goal, in a sense. He's trying to become undisputed, he's never done that. He's trying to put more achievements in his resume. I can't say I admire it, I don't, but I get where he's coming from since he's on his way out, wants to finish with a bang. He's gonna be a hall of famer for sure, but he wants to end it with a bang. He's dying to get this last belt, and for me I'm on the verge of doing some big things, trying to make history, undisputed champion at 22. I'm gonna knock his head off," Lopez wrote.
Many fans asked the boisterous Brooklyn native how many rounds Lomachenko would last, as if to say it was not a matter of if but when Lopez would knock him.
Lopez played along with them and gave his current fight prediction.
"Hahaha. Usually when I'm in camp...I gotta say it won't go past eight rounds. When I'm in camp and I see how I'm doing, I said the (Richard) Commey fight won't go past 6, so when I'm in camp and I feel great, then you guys can ask and I can tell you it'll go this far. So right now I'm gonna say it won't go past 8 until then," explained Lopez.
Send questions or comments to ringsidewriter@gmail.com You can follow Ryan on Twitter @ringsidewriter