This Thursday night, the two weight lineal champion Teofimo Lopez returns to action as he is slated to take on Jamaine Ortiz to defend his WBO Super Lightweight title. Lopez dazzled fans on his rise to stardom and now his story will continue.
The Rise of Teofimo Lopez
The rise of Teofimo Lopez seemed like destiny. As his record improved to 12-0, 13-0 and higher, it seemed inevitable that he would come face to face with the best pound for pound fighter in boxing: Vasyl Lomachenko.
But at only 23, nobody really knew how good Lopez was. We knew he was good, but could he topple the complicated and insanely talented Lomachenko? That’s when he was tapped to face Richard Commey.
Lomachenko had three of the titles at lightweight and wanted a fourth. Richard Commey had that fourth, the IBF Lightweight title. Lopez swooped in and beat Masayoshi Nakatani to get the shot at Commey’s belt.
The fight with Richard Commey wouldn’t last long. The young Brooklyn fighter put the champion away in two rounds. After the fight, Lomachenko, the giant, stepped into the ring. A photo op took place but it was clear what was on everyone’s mind.
Unification. Undisputed.
Unfortunately, Lomachenko was booked to fight Luke Campbell next. Lomachenko won that fight but Lopez was there, waiting for his shot at the pound for pound king. That fight would eventually be made in September of 2020.
Will there be a takeover?
A lot of boxing heads were mixed on Lomachenko vs. Lopez. We knew how good Lopez was in theory. But we knew for certain that Vasyl Lomachenko was the real deal.
But this was all theory. While much of the pre-fight predictions were fairly even handed, that didn’t insulate Teofimo Lopez from all the doubters.
“I think Lopez is a good fighter. But Lomachenko is better,” said Sergiy Derevyanchenko.
“I think Lomachenko,” Jose Zepeda told Boxing Scene. “He’s too skillful. I would say that Teofimo has that puncher’s chance. But then again, Loma never drops his hands.”
Leonard Ellerbe, the CEO of Mayweather Promotions, had no faith in Lopez. “That kid is not going to beat Lomachenko…He doesn’t have enough experience. It’s a lot to deal with Lomachenko.”
But Teofimo Lopez was prepared. In a 12 round battle, Lopez took the lead early with a seven round lead across all scorecards. It was that pivotal 12th round that Lopez took back over the fight and the decision over the surging Lomachenko. Lopez was the champ, undisputed. He dethroned the king.
The fall and return
The win over Vasyl Lomachenko had many begging for Lopez to return to action. But a full year would pass before he returned to the ring. COVID-19 was in full swing and the fight was delayed multiple times due to a failed COVID test. Relationships between he and Top Rank Boxing, his promoter, also curdled. Lopez was offered $1.25 million to face George Kambosos Jr., the IBF mandatory for Lopez.
The fight went to purse bid and Triller won the staging rights. The pandemic caused controversy when they tried to book the fight in ultra-locked down Australia. Lopez and the IBF ruled against the move. Other venues were floated and eventually, New York City was the place for the fight to take place. But the shenanigans weren’t over yet.
After spending $10 million in promoting the fight between Teofimo Lopez and George Kambosos Jr., Triller pulled out of the fight. Behind the scenes, George Kambosos was demanding more money to relocate to the United States. As the dates kept changing, pressures arose and Kambosos stopped correspondence with Triller all together.
As Triller exited the deal, Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing stepped in and was broadcast on DAZN. The tragedy was still not over for the young Lopez, who was out for over a year.
In the first round, disaster struck for Lopez when Kambosos knocked him down in the first round. Lopez fought timid and allowed Kambosos to press the pace. Kambosos ended up winning the titles from Lopez. Just like that, without a defense, Teofimo Lopez lost everything.
Nine more months would go by before Lopez would return to action. This time, he announced his move to super lightweight. He took on Pedro Campa. That fight showed a patient Lopez, though an uninspiring performance, but a seventh round knockout. His next fight was against the tricky Sandor Martin, a split decision win. He was then scheduled to face Josh Taylor in June of 2023. Taylor was widely seen as the best at 140 and Lopez was facing another tricky southpaw.
That fight, however, was an absolute masterclass from Teofimo Lopez. The WBO World Super Lightweight belt was on the line. Throughout the 12 round unanimous decision, Lopez put on a dazzling performance that reminded fans just how good of a fighter the young man was. He consistently worked in all areas against the southpaw; the inside angle, the outside angle, in the pocket, at range. There wasn’t a single moment of the fight where Teofimo Lopez wasn’t in complete control.
The task at hand
This Thursday, Teofimo Lopez is facing off with Jamaine Ortiz. Ortiz is a switch hitter and gave Vasyl Lomachenko an incredibly tough fight in 2022. While he lost that fight, “The Technician” really challenged Lomachenko in ways not seen since the Lopez fight.
In the fight before Lomachenko, Jamaine Ortiz defeated Jamel Herring as well. He was quite the tested fighter despite his meager 16-0-1 record. One win at super lightweight later and Jamaine Ortiz is back with another tough challenge.
Teofimo Lopez has a tough task at hand. Ortiz has the same height and half an inch longer reach. But Lopez isn’t backing down. He never has. He defeated the top pound for pound fighter in the world. Jamaine Ortiz is a good fighter but none of the pressure that came with fighting Lomachenko comes with Ortiz.
Now Teofimo Lopez has his new target: Terence Crawford. Will “The Takeover” repeat his past magic and, once again, topple the top pound for pound fighter in the world? This weekend is the first step to that. Beat Jamaine Ortiz. Beat Devin Haney. Become undeniable. That’s what Lopez did in the past. He aims to do that again.
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