Vasiliy Lomachenko: record, next fight and profile →
Teofimo Lopez obviously isn’t looking past Vasiliy Lomachenko. The unbeaten IBF lightweight champion wasn’t trying to disrespect Felix Verdejo, either. When he was asked, however, about boxing Verdejo next if he beats Lomachenko on Saturday night, Lopez expressed interest in other opponents over Verdejo.
Teofimo Lopez is going to keep talking until someone is able to make him eat his words. There are many in the industry undoubtedly expecting—if not hoping for—that moment to take place this weekend, as the unbeaten Brooklynite faces one of the sport’s very best. Lopez enters the first defense of his lightweight title reign in a multi-belt unification clash with Ukraine’s Vasiliy Lomachenko (14-1, 10KOs), live this Saturday on ESPN from The Bubble at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
There were times during negotiations for the Vasiliy Lomachenko-Teofimo Lopez fight that ESPN executives considered its streaming and pay-per-view platforms as options. They ultimately afforded Bob Arum’s Top Rank Inc. enough money in the form of a license fee to televise it live on ESPN on October 17. Airing their lightweight title unification fight on a basic cable channel that has approximately 83 million subscribers obviously will make it available to many more viewers than if it were on pay-per-view for at least $70 or on ESPN+, the network’s $6-per-month streaming service.
Teofimo Lopez has boxed beyond the sixth round just twice in 15 professional fights. The first of those two bouts resulted in a seventh-round stoppage for the Brooklyn-based knockout artist against Diego Magdaleno. The second such match marked the only 12-round fight of his four-year pro career – an unremarkable but wide win over Masayoshi Nakatani in the bout before he ravaged Richard Commey to become a world champion barely three years into his career.
By Lyle Fitzsimmons - I’ve come to a decision. Or, to be more accurate, I’ve confirmed a decision I’d already considered. Vasyl Lomachenko is the best boxer in the world. Bar none. And to those contrarian masses on social media who’d suggest such a notion is either beholden to a promoter or network or simply not as enlightened as theirs, I have an equally simple res...
An undisputed lightweight champion will be crowned this weekend. That is the official stance taken by the World Boxing Council (WBC), confirming that its reigning 135-pound titlist Devin Haney will not factor into the equation. Instead, Vasiliy Lomachenko—the WBA and WBO belts along with designation as WBC “Franchise” champion—remains the sanctioning body’s recognized true champion heading into his highly anticipated showdown with IBF titlist Teofimo Lopez (15-0, 12KOs) this Saturday live on ESPN from The Bubble at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
By Corey Erdman - Try as it might to pass for its former self, a good portion of boxing’s offerings during the global pandemic have been aseptic. Something from the fighters, from the limited audience, just hasn’t been there. Even if, counterintuitively, the fights themselves have been enjoyable, if not thrilling. The past eight months have produced a classic battle between...
Regardless of the entertainment value that comes with the latest round of trash talk, Vasiliy Lomachenko swears he’s heard it all before. The three-division and reigning unified lightweight titlist from Ukraine has done his best to avoid a war of words with Teofimo Lopez ahead of their highly anticipated October 17 championship clash in Las Vegas. The vows made by Brooklyn’s Lopez (15-0, 12KOs) has served as a focal point in the buildup to their ESPN headliner, though largely viewed as empty promises by Lomachenko whose cultural upbringing doesn’t quite marry up with how verbal threats are otherwise celebrated.
Jose 'Chon' Zepeda, the sensation of the moment, revealed that if he's not given the opportunity to fight for the junior welterweight championship in the near future, he would love to face the winner of the long-awaited lightweight battle between Vasiliy Lomachenko and Teofimo Lopez, which takes place this coming Saturday night in Las Vegas.
Teofimo Lopez doesn’t consider a knockout his only path to victory over Vasiliy Lomachenko. Ukraine’s Lomachenko is widely viewed as the superior boxer as their 12-round, 135-pound title unification fight approaches. Lopez (15-0, 12 KOs) still is confident he has the boxing ability to beat the highly skilled southpaw on points if he cannot become the first fighter to knock out Lomachenko (14-1, 10 KOs) on October 17 in Las Vegas.