Is Teofimo Lopez Underrated?
Teofimo Lopez is a two-weight/lineal champion, but he doesn’t always get plaudits for his accomplishments as we look at his resume.
Lopez is currently 21-1 with 13 knockouts. His only defeat came against George Kambosos Jr. in 2021 when he lost his unified lightweight titles. He has a boxing resume to rival the best of them. He defeated Masayoshi Nakatani in 2019, giving the Japanese fighter his first loss. Nakatani has been in with the biggest names. Nakatani would later face Vasiliy Lomachenko and Shuichiro Yoshino, losing both times. However, it was the Lopez defeat that disrupted his career. His record now includes only two wins out of his last four fights.
Lopez’s Resume
Lopez also has a victory against Richard Commey. The latter is another big-name fighter. His record stands at 30-5-1 with 27 knockouts. He has been in with some of the biggest names, including Jose Pedraza, Lomachenko and, of course, Lopez. Teofimo defeated him in 2019 in a comprehensive second-round stoppage. But Lopez’s defining moment at 135 pounds came when he faced Lomachenko. He defeated the Ukrainian in a unanimous decision to become the unified lightweight champion.
Lomachenko’s team argued that he had a shoulder injury heading into the fight; Lopez outboxed the Ukrainian when he was still at his peak. But Lopez would suffer by losing his very next fight against Kambosos, as Teo then moved up to 140 pounds. But when it came to 140 pounds, Lopez faced good opposition. He took on Jamaine Ortiz, a former sparring partner of Lomachenko. It was a tough bout, but Lopez eventually came through with a unanimous decision. But his biggest win at 140 pounds was against Josh Taylor.
He defeated the former Undisputed Junior Welterweight Champion by a unanimous decision to claim Taylor’s remaining WBO belt. However, after the Taylor win, Lopez retired. He said he only wanted to make a comeback if he could secure nine-figure paydays. Lopez changed his mind, beating Ortiz and then defending the belt successfully against Steve Claggett in his last fight.
The problem Lopez faces is that he is not a big ticket seller. However, his accomplishments in the sport show that he is ready to face the best. He has called out Terence Crawford, Devin Haney, Gervonta Davis and has even been linked with the Ryan Garcia fight. And once Lopez manages to get a big name with big commercial power, his resume will elevate to a new a level.
Lopez’s Aim
“I never did it for the fame. I never did it for the popularity purpose of it. [And] I did it just to be the best fighter in the world. As a young kid, I wanted to be the best fighter in the boxing game. That’s it. No. 1 of everything. And look at this: I’m only 26. The other guys that they’re rooting for, like [Naoya] Inoue, [Terence] Crawford and them, they’re on their way out or they’re in their 30s already. I’m a baby, and look how much I’ve done in the landscape.
“Two-time lineal world champion, and all this at 25. I got everything done faster and earlier than all of them, so whatever people want to say, they can go and do what they want with it. It’s just competition, and I look forward to being the best version of myself in this fight and moving forward to the next one. Whatever is planned for me in September – whatever is planned for me in December – you know we’re ready for it,” Lopez said
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