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We have a new superstar in the world of boxing, as Teofimo Lopez unified three world lightweight titles tonight with a surprise win over now-former pound-for-pound leader Vasiliy Lomachenko.
Lopez (16-0, 12 KOs) didn’t even have to knock out Lomachenko or put him on the canvas. He won the fight by a pretty clear decision, scoring 116-112, 117-111, and 119-109, and while the latter was probably a couple of rounds wider than realistic, there really isn’t much of an argument that Lopez has won. this victory.
Bad Left Hook had the 116-112 fight for Lopez on our two unofficial scorecards.
Lomachenko (14-2, 10 KO), whose technical wizardry and tactical genius has been his calling card even from fans, took quite a bold strategy in this fight, as it could be argued that he gave away the first seven rounds, or at minus the vast majority of them.
Lopez didn’t do anything particularly good when it came to flashy offense in those rounds, but he also didn’t allow Lomachenko to “download” enough pertinent information fast enough to get us through to the eighth round, constantly throwing more and more. He landed more, worked smartly and with a lot of patience, and proved that the boxing prowess he boasted was hidden beneath his flashy knockouts.
In short, Teófimo López walked the road, and even after 32-year-old Lomachenko came to life and fought much better starting in the eighth round, he never got too nervous, even when the Ukrainian was doing some classic work of Lomachenko Sports.
“I had to dig deep. I’m grateful, I’m grateful, and every single day I take it in,” Lopez said after the fight. “I had to dig there and it feels good.”
When asked about his father and trainer, Teofimo Sr, and told to fight cautiously in the 12th round, Lopez explained why he didn’t, why he went out and took that round by force.
“I knew (Lomachenko) was coming. I can’t give him that, ”Lopez said. “I don’t know if (the judges) have included it on the scorecards or not. I come to fight and I come to win ”.
Lopez had said before the fight that he felt he had seen something in Lomachenko that he could take advantage of, and after winning revealed that it was all quite simple in theory, although obviously difficult to execute.
“You just have to keep pushing it, putting it on the gas. Hit the jab, don’t give him a chance to prepare, ”he said. “Every time I wanted to pitch, I had at least something to make it come back.”
As for Lomachenko, it was understandable that he was quite downtrodden with the loss, his first since 2014.
“I think in the first half of the fight, he got more rounds than me, but in the second half, I took over and was much better,” his manager Egis Klimas said through a translator. “But I want to go home and review the fight. I can’t comment much on this at this point, but I definitely don’t agree with the scorecards. “
Pressed to answer whether he felt he won or not, Lomachenko said: “I think I won the fight, but the result is the result, I will not argue now. I need to see what’s in the video. “
Lomachenko said he will discuss with his team what comes next, but obviously this is a tough and difficult loss, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him possibly drop the weight back to 130 or even 126.
As for Lopez, he is flying high. Bob Arum has confirmed that this match did not have a rematch clause, and he will have to find out what comes next.
“Take me to 140, or I can fight two-time email champion Devin Haney if they want that,” he said.
“All it is, man, ‘The Takeover’, it’s time for the next generation to emerge. It’s me taking the initiative for everyone. “
