Teófimo López

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Teófimo López
File:Teofimo Lopez.jpg
López in 2019
Statistics
Real name Teófimo Andrés López Rivera
Nickname(s) The Takeover
El Brooklyn[1]
Rated at Lightweight
Height 5 ft 8 in (173 cm)[2]
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Born (1997-07-30) July 30, 1997 (age 26)
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Stance Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights 17
Wins 16
Wins by KO 12
Losses 1
Medal record
Men's amateur boxing
National Golden Gloves
Gold medal – first place 2015 Las Vegas Lightweight
US Youth National Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Reno Lightweight

Teófimo Andrés López Rivera[3] (born July 30, 1997) is an American professional boxer. He is a former unified lightweight world champion, having held the IBF title from 2019 to November 2021, and the WBA (Super), WBO, and The Ring magazine titles from October 2020 until November 2021.[4] As an amateur, he represented Honduras at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

As of June 2022, López is ranked as the world's Third best active lightweight by The Ring magazine[5] and the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board,[6] Fourth by BoxRec[7] and fifth by ESPN.[8]

Early life

López was born to Honduran immigrants on July 30, 1997 in Brooklyn, New York. His paternal grandfather, a Spaniard, was born in 1916 and emigrated to Honduras after the Second World War. His father, Teófimo López Sr. emigrated to Brooklyn with his mother at age 5.[9] López Sr., started training his son at the age of 6, shortly after moving to Florida.[10]

Amateur career

López won the U.S. Olympic Trials[11] but Carlos Balderas had already secured the United States' sole lightweight entry into the tournament as AIBA's World Series of Boxing champion,[12] so López was aware entering the trials that at best he could only qualify as an alternate for Balderas (who lost in the Olympic quarterfinals). López was able to qualify for the Honduran team, where his parents are from, and reached the finals of the Olympic qualifying tournament for the Americas to earn his place in Rio. López also won the 2015 National Golden Gloves. López competed in the men's lightweight event at the 2016 Summer Olympics representing Honduras, where he was defeated in the tournament by eventual silver medalist Sofiane Oumiha.[3]

Professional career

Early career

López signed with Top Rank in October 2016,[13] and made his debut on the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao vs. Jessie Vargas fight in November of the same year.[14] After compiling a perfect 10–0 record, he announced himself to the world stage in December 2018 by beating veteran Mason Menard with a knockout of the year candidate.[15]

In his next fight, López, already ranked #9 by the WBA, #11 by the WBC and #10 by the WBO, faced another boxing veteran in Diego Magdaleno, which ended in another brutal knockout win for López. He attracted some controversy after his exuberant celebration with Magdaleno still down on the canvas.[16][17]

López's winning streak continued, improving to 13–0 with a fifth-round knockout victory against former world title challenger Edis Tatli on April 20, 2019 on the undercard of Terence Crawford vs. Amir Khan at Madison Square Garden, New York City.[18]

IBF lightweight champion

López vs. Nakatani

On July 19, 2019, López who was ranked #4 by the IBF at the time, faced undefeated Masayoshi Nakatani, who was ranked #3, in a final eliminator for the IBF world lightweight title.[19] In the fourth round, López knocked Nakatani down with his right hand, but the referee ruled it a slip. The fight marked the first time López had gone 12 rounds in his career, and he was awarded a unanimous decision victory with scores of 118–110, 118–110, 119–109, setting up a clash with IBF champion Richard Commey.[20]

López vs. Commey

On December 14, 2019, López challenged the IBF lightweight champion Richard Commey. López won the IBF title in spectacular fashion after connecting on Commey with a big right hand, and finishing him with a second-round technical knockout. After the conclusion of the fight, López was joined in the ring by fellow lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko, with whom he took a photo with. When asked about his plans for his next fight and a possible unification bout with Lomachenko, López replied, "You guys know who I want," referring to Lomachenko without explicitly naming him.[21][22]

Unified lightweight champion

López vs. Lomachenko

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Main article: Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. Teófimo López

In September 2020, López agreed to fight unified WBA (Super), WBO, and The Ring champion, Vasiliy Lomachenko, on October 17 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. It was the first major fight since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. With no live audience, López defied the odds with a stunning upset victory as he beat the highly-regarded Ukrainian by unanimous decision to unify the lightweight division and maintain his unbeaten record, with the judges' scorecards reading 116–112, 117–111 and 119–109.[23] The first seven rounds saw López staying behind his jab and going to the body, with his opponent offering very little in response. In the second half, Lomachenko started coming out more offensively, landing more punches. However, in the final round, López landed 50 of 98 punches thrown (51%), the most an opponent has landed on Lomachenko in a round. According to CompuBox stats, Lomachenko landed 141 of 321 thrown (44%), while López landed 183 of 659 thrown (28%).[24]

López declined to give Lomachenko a rematch, explaining that “everybody [in Lomachenko’s camp] was being a dick to me, my father. He [Lomachenko] didn’t want to put a rematch clause in our contract."[25] In the wake of his victory, López asserted that he is the undisputed lightweight champion, despite not holding the WBC belt.[26][27] However, the claim was contested by many boxing analysts and fans, as the 'Franchise' version of the WBC title won by López against Lomachenko lacks recognition from a large portion of the boxing community,[28][29][30] including Devin Haney, recognized by others as the holder of the legitimate WBC lightweight title.[31][32]

López vs. Kambosos Jr.

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Main article: Teófimo López vs. George Kambosos Jr.

López's first defense of his unified lightweight championship had been scheduled for June 5, 2021 against undefeated contender George Kambosos Jr, before being delayed multiple times due to complications involving López testing positive for COVID-19,[33] and disputes over the venue of the fight.[34][35] The fight had gone to purse bids which was won by Triller with a winning bid of over US$6 million, leading to a fallout between López and Bob Arum, head promoter at Top Rank.[36] On October 6, it transpired that the IBF had found Triller in default of its contract obligation to stage the fight, and that its rights would be awarded to the second highest bidder, Eddie Hearn's Matchroom, meaning that the fight will be shown live exclusively on the streaming service DAZN.[37][38] Despite Kambosos entering the bout as a 13 to 1 pre-fight betting underdog,[39] he knocked down the champion in the first round of the fight. Despite returning the favor by knocking down Kambosos in the tenth round, López ultimately lost the bout via split decision. One judge scored the bout 114–113 to López, while the other two judges scored it 115–112 and 115–111 for Kambosos Jr.[40]

Personal life

On April 23, 2019, López married his wife Cynthia López, who is originally from Nicaragua. They first met on a Delta Air Lines flight from New York City to Las Vegas shortly after López's victorious 9th pro fight against Vitor Jones Freitas, on which Cynthia was a flight attendant.[41] Shortly after marrying, they spent their honeymoon vacation in Greece.[42]

On February 12, 2021, López used his social media platforms to speak up about injustice and stand in support with victims of racial violence, issuing a message in support of Asian communities around the world in light of Lunar New Year and continued increasing anti-Asian racism in 2021.[43]

López's native language is English, and he also can understand and speak Spanish.[44]

On June 15, 2021, López tested positive for COVID-19, leading to the postponement of his fight with George Kambosos Jr.[45]

Professional boxing record

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  • dec-losses
  • dq-wins
  • dq-losses
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No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
17 Loss 16–1 George Kambosos Jr. SD 12 Nov 27, 2021 Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. Lost WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and The Ring lightweight titles
16 Win 16–0 Vasiliy Lomachenko UD 12 Oct 17, 2020 MGM Grand Conference Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. Retained IBF lightweight title;
Won WBA (Super), WBO, and The Ring lightweight titles
15 Win 15–0 Richard Commey TKO 2 (12), 1:13 Dec 14, 2019 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. Won IBF lightweight title
14 Win 14–0 Masayoshi Nakatani UD 12 Jul 19, 2019 MGM National Harbor, Oxon Hill, Maryland, U.S.
13 Win 13–0 Edis Tatli KO 5 (12), 1:32 Apr 20, 2019 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. Retained WBC-NABF lightweight title
12 Win 12–0 Diego Magdaleno KO 7 (10), 1:08 Feb 2, 2019 The Ford Center at The Star, Frisco, Texas, U.S. Retained WBC-NABF, WBA-NABA, and IBF-USBA lightweight titles
11 Win 11–0 Mason Menard KO 1 (10), 0:44 Dec 8, 2018 Hulu Theater, New York City, New York, U.S. Won vacant WBA-NABA, WBC-NABF, and IBF-USBA lightweight titles[46]
10 Win 10–0 William Silva TKO 6 (10), 0:15 Jul 14, 2018 Lakefront Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. Won vacant WBC Continental Americas lightweight title
9 Win 9–0 Vitor Jones Freitas KO 1 (8), 1:04 May 12, 2018 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
8 Win 8–0 Juan Pablo Sanchez UD 6 Feb 3, 2018 American Bank Center, Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S.
7 Win 7–0 Josh Ross TKO 2 (6), 1:57 Oct 13, 2017 A La Carte Event Pavilion, Tampa, Florida, U.S.
6 Win 6–0 Christian Santibanez UD 6 Jul 7, 2017 A La Carte Event Pavilion, Tampa, Florida, U.S.
5 Win 5–0 Ronald Rivas KO 2 (6), 2:21 May 20, 2017 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
4 Win 4–0 Jorge Luis Munguia TKO 2 (6), 0:48 Apr 21, 2017 Osceola Heritage Center, Kissimmee, Florida, U.S.
3 Win 3–0 Daniel Bastien KO 2 (6), 0:39 Mar 17, 2017 The Theater at Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
2 Win 2–0 Francisco Medel TKO 4 (4), 0:58 Feb 24, 2017 Tony Rosa Community Center, Palm Bay, Florida, U.S.
1 Win 1–0 Ishwar Siqueiros KO 2 (4), 2:03 Nov 5, 2016 Thomas & Mack Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.

See also

References

  1. ↑ https://www.ringnews24.com/2020/10/05/teofimo-lopez-reveals-the-reason-he-hates-vasiliy-lomachenko/
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 DAZN Boxing tale of the tape prior to the George Kambosos Jr. fight
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External links

Sporting positions
Amateur boxing titles
Previous:
Maliek Montgomery		 U.S. Golden Gloves
lightweight champion
2015		 Next:
Maliek Montgomery
Regional boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Ryan Martin		 WBC Continental Americas
lightweight champion
July 14, 2018 – November 2018
Vacated		 Vacant
Title next held by
Adrian Estrella
Vacant
Title last held by
Ray Beltran		 WBC-NABF lightweight champion
December 8, 2018 – November 2019
Vacated		 Vacant
Vacant
Title last held by
Devin Haney		 IBF-USBA lightweight champion
December 8, 2018 – November 2019
Vacated		 Vacant
Vacant
Title last held by
Demond Brock		 WBA-NABA lightweight champion
February 2, 2019 – September 2019
Vacated		 Vacant
Title next held by
Chris Colbert
World boxing titles
Preceded by IBF lightweight champion
December 14, 2019 – November 27, 2021		 Succeeded by
George Kambosos Jr.
Preceded by WBA lightweight champion
Super title
October 17, 2020 – November 27, 2021
WBO lightweight champion
October 17, 2020 – November 27, 2021
The Ring lightweight champion
October 17, 2020 – November 27, 2021
Awards
Previous:
Jaime Munguia		 The Ring Prospect of the Year
2018		 Next:
Vergil Ortiz Jr.


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