Teofimo Lopez (15-0, 12 KOs) is a champion. Lopez was able to stop Richard Commey (29-3, 26 KOs) in two rounds to win the IBF lightweight world title at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.
The 22-year-old Lopez knocked Commey down with a right hand in the second round, and after that knockdown, Commey’s promoter, Lou DiBella, knew it was over.
“He caught him,” DiBella said after the fight. “When you have one-punch power, it can land in the 1st; it can lead in the 10th, it can lead in the 12th, it can land at any time. It landed early. The second that punch landed, I was like, okay, goodnight.”
After the knockdown, Lopez continued his assault, which forced referee David Fields to stop the fight.
Lopez is now on track to challenge unified champion Vasiliy Lomachenko, in a fight that would crown an undisputed champion in 2020.
“You all know who I want to fight next. 2020 is going to be a big year,” Lopez said after the fight. ‘The Takeover’ has arrived, and you haven’t seen anything yet.”
Lomachenko is ready for the fight, and his goal is to unify all the major titles at 135.
“We want to ‘unificate’ all four titles,” Loma said. “Now he’ s(Lopez) a world champion, and now he’s in position to fight me.”
According to DiBella, Loma should take the fight now before Lopez gets better.
“I think if I was Loma, I probably would do the fight right now because I think the kid is only going to get better in a year or two,” DiBella said. “It’s not like it’s going to be an easier task later. Loma is probably more experienced and probably more skilled. Teofimo is dangerous against anybody in the world…
“Do I think he’s(Lopez) going to get better? Yeah, I think he’s going to get better, but when you have that type of offensive arsenal, you’re dangerous against anybody, including Loma.”
It was a great night for Lopez, and it was not surprising that he beat Commey, but it was surprising how he did it. Beating Lomachenko won’t be easy, but defeating Lopez won’t be easy for Lomachenko as well.
All of boxing will be looking forward to Lomachenko-Lopez sometime in 2020.
Photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank
