Loma/Lopez: Rewatched Round 12. My perception of Teofimo has changed.

[richardt]

My new dream fight: Teofimo Lopez vs. Chino Maidana at a catchweight.

The fight was so fast I missed a lot of this the first time around, but damn. Lopez is a dirty MF'er.

- Strong arm/elbow
- Palm strike
- Heisman straightarm
- Elbow to keep range
- Shoulder blocks
- Shoulder tackles
- Ducking beneath the belt line
- Hitting off the break
- Throwing elbow like a punch (shades of Otto 'All In' Wallin)
- Elbow to the side of the head in the trench

If Kenny Bayless were reffing this fight, Teo would have had a lot of points deducted.

Bonus moment is Teo uppercutting himself (shades of Tyson Fury) around the 6:30-ish mark.





BUT...this video showcases that this round was a straight up chess match. Both guys had good moments and bad. At no point (and you can see for yourself) was either guy in any danger of getting stopped or knocked out.

Loma did NOT get dominated for people who properly count jabs, because Lopez was getting as good as he was giving - Loma even nails a BEAUTIFUL uppercut and a sweet leaping left hand midway through, plus blocks a right uppercut with his left glove (usually it's the right glove to deflect or catch), and like I said, Lopez had good body work for about 20 seconds of the round.

Meanwhile, Lomachenko was the constant aggressor, which was the right strategy, and really what he should have been doing from Round 2 onward. Because Lopez didn't look tired in Round 12, so assume he wasn't, it meant that Loma could have walked the bigger guy down.

Regardless, Round 12 was NOT decisive for Lopez.

Don't come at me with your opinion. WATCH the video. Pause at punches. DON'T ignore the jab - from either guy. Jab Lives Matter.

This is probably my favorite round in all of modern boxing.

It's not rock-em-sock-em robots like Bradley/Provodnikov.
It's not sloppy defense like Ortiz/Berto.
It's not one-sided spanking like Mayweather/Pacquiao 1.
It's not random jobber street fighting like KSI/Paul 2.

This Round 12 is what I love most about the sport - a 50/50 fight with SKILL on display from both guys.

(And yes, I still say Loma did enough to pull it out because Lopez missed more than he connected).

Thanks for the video, it is interesting when you watch the 12th round in slow-mo, it looks like a much closer round and not as one-sided for Lopez as many have suggested. You see more misses and grazed punches in slo-mo.

I wouldn't mind seeing a rematch, but Loma really blew it by not adding a rematch clause.

In a rematch, several scenarios might play out. Loma might start earlier which could lead to positive or negative results. I do think a rematch might look a lot different than the first fight for a number of reasons since a combination of chess match/war might play out in different ways.

An example would be, if Loma is busier early, does that help him rack up points and tire out Lopez? Or does it put Loma in harms way when Lopez' power is fresher. Or does Loma starting earlier also mean that he too will tire a bit more later in the fight and not have such dominance from 8-11 like he did in their fight?

I would think that if the money is right, Lopez would probably accept the fight. Haven't heard from Loma what his plans are or interest level in a rematch.

[Combat Talk Radio]

Thanks for the video, it is interesting when you watch the 12th round in slow-mo, it looks like a much closer round and not as one-sided for Lopez as many have suggested. You see more misses and grazed punches in slo-mo.

I wouldn't mind seeing a rematch, but Loma really blew it by not adding a rematch clause.

In a rematch, several scenarios might play out. Loma might start earlier which could lead to positive or negative results. I do think a rematch might look a lot different than the first fight for a number of reasons since a combination of chess match/war might play out in different ways.

An example would be, if Loma is busier early, does that help him rack up points and tire out Lopez? Or does it put Loma in harms way when Lopez' power is fresher. Or does Loma starting earlier also mean that he too will tire a bit more later in the fight and not have such dominance from 8-11 like he did in their fight?

I would think that if the money is right, Lopez would probably accept the fight. Haven't heard from Loma what his plans are or interest level in a rematch.

And again, it's fine if people want to say they felt Lopez edged that round.

I originally had it clearly for Loma because I didn't see him miss a lot, but on slower rewatch it was basically a toss up. You could see it either way. That's a swing round. That's what I'm admitting.

Both guys had good moments, neither guy was at any danger of getting stopped or knocked out and in fact, yes, Lopez showed skill but also flaws that were there in earlier rounds but not as obvious until Round 11 when Loma started really putting his foot on the gas. Lopez was clearly tired in Round 11 but Loma couldn't finish him and he got a second wind.

Meanwhile, Loma impressed me by being so much smaller than Lopez yet still pressing the action as the aggressor. When's the last time you saw that? Pacquiao/Margacheato? Mayweather/Carnelo?

My whole thing is this.

That fight was 7-5 Lopez at BEST. I can still see a draw. But regardless, it wasn't a blowout, it wasn't a domination, and a rematch would be good not only for both guys but for the sport. Especially if it's done with fans in the arena, which may or may not have made a difference.

It would also shut the toxic "fans" up, because we'd get to prove once and for all who the better guy truly is. And this time, have Kenny Bayless as the third man in the ring so it stays clean.