Watch LIVE and exclusively on ESPN+ beginning at 10 pm ET/7 pm PT – Entire undercard to stream on ESPN+ at 6:30 pm ET/ 3:30 pm PT.
By Allan Fox: Undefeated Teofimo Lopez weighed in at 134.4 pounds for his IBF lightweight title eliminator against Masayoshi Nakatani this Friday night on ESPN+ at the MGM National Harbor, in Oxon Hill, Maryland. The fight will be shown on ESPN+ starting at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT. The winner of the Lopez vs. Nakatani will be the mandatory for IBF lightweight champion Richard Commey.
The much taller 5’11 1/2″ Nakatani (18-0, 12 KOs) weighed in at 134.4 pounds as well. The Japanese fighter will be enjoying a 3 1/2 inch height and 3 inch reach advantage over the 5’8″ Lopez (13-0, 11 KOs) on Friday night. During the face off, Lopez had to look up to Nakatani.
A lot riding on this fight for Teofimo
Lopez, 21, needs to get passed the 30-year-old Nakatani for him to face IBF lightweight champion Richard Commey later this year for his title. The ultimate goal is for Lopez to challenge WBA/WBO lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko in early 2020 around the time of the Super Bowl. That’s when Top Rank boss Bob Arum plans on putting together the Lomachenko vs. Teofimo fight.
Nakatani has been smashing his opposition in impressive fashion lately. He has recent wins over Hurricane Futa, Izuki Tamioka, Amphol Suriyo, and Ryan Sermona. The obvious thing that jumps out at you is the fact that Nakatani has been fighting obscure opposition in Japan, and that makes it difficult to predict how he’ll do when he shares the ring with Teofimo on Friday night. Teofimo’s best wins have come against Edis Tatli, Diego Magdaleno, Mason Menard and William Silvas.
Maxim Dadashev vs. Subriel Matias – WEIGHTS
Undefeated #3 IBF Maxim Dadashev (13-0, 11 KOs) weighed in at 139.2 pounds for his IBF light welterweight title eliminator bout against #8 IBF Subriel Matias (13-0, 13 KOs). For his part, Matias, 27, weighed in at 139.8 pounds. Dadashev-Matias fight will be shown on ESPN+ at 6:30 p.m. ET.
The winner of the Dadashev vs. Matias fight will be the mandatory for IBF 140 pound champion Josh Taylor. They won’t get a shot at fighting for the IBF light welterweight title until the World Boxing Super Series tournament is over. Taylor will be fighting WBA 140 pound champion Regis Prograis in the final of the tournament later this year. Those two still have a date or a venue for when they’ll be fighting, which isn’t surprising given how the tournament has gone.
Other weights on the undercard
- Dusty Hernandez-Harrison 159.8 lbs vs. Juan De Angel 164.8 lbs
- Cassius Chaney 252.8 lbs vs. Joel Caudle 255.6 lbs
- Tyler Howard 161.8 lbs vs. Jamaal Davis 161.8 lbs
- Tyler McCreary 133.2 lbs vs. Jessie Cris Rosales 134 lbs
- Esquiva Falcao 161.2 lbs Jesus Antonio Gutierrez 161.2 lbs
- Rolando Vargas 134.4 lbs Nathaniel Davis 134.6 lbs
- Patrick Harris 138.6 lbs vs. Donald Ward 138.4 lbs
Lopez vs. Nakatani ticket information
Promoted by Top Rank, tickets priced at $100, $75, $50 and $25 (not including applicable fees) are on sale now and can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com or in person at the MGM National Harbor.