By Sean Jones: Top Rank has now officially announced the lightweight championship fight between Vasily Lomachenko and Teofimo Lopez for October 17 on ESPN from ‘The Bubble’ at the MGM Grand conference in Las Vegas. Nevada.
In a positive for boxing fans, Lomachenko vs. Lopez will be televised on regular ESPN and ESPN Deportes on October 17. Fans won’t have to pay to see the Lomachenko-Teofimo fight on the ESPN+ app, which is good news.
A lot of fans aren’t in the position to add monthly expenses during this time in their lives while the coronavirus quarantine is going on. The start time for the Lomachenko vs. Teofimo broadcast on ESPN is at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT.
Lomachenko (14-1, 10 KOs) will be taking the biggest fight for his career in facing the 23-year-old Teofimo, who has been dogging his heels since 2018. The WBA, WBC & WBO lightweight champion Lomachenko finally is getting the chance to shut Lopez’s mouth by beating him, but it’s not going to be easy.
Teofimo will have chances to land his shots
Lomachenko’s tapping style of fighting is going to make him vulnerable to getting a lot by Teofimo, and that could be bad news. You don’t want to get hit by a slugger like Lopez, especially if you’re an aging fighter. In three of Lomachenko’s four fights at 135, he’s looked beaten up.
While Lomachenko is a great boxer, his pitty-pat style of fighting isn’t well-suited for the lightweight division. He gets hit too much using that style, and the guys in the 135-lb weight class possess a lot of power.
When Loma was fighting at 126 and 130, he was able to get away with his high volume style of fighting, but not anymore. The two-time Olympic gold medalist Lomachenko is a target with that style of fighting at 135.
Teofimo Lopez Sr, the father for Teofimo, is predicting Loma won’t last beyond the fifth round with his son on October 17.
“The thing of it is, my son loved [Richard] Commey, and look at what he did to him,” said Teofimo Sr. “So he doesn’t like Lomachenko at all. That fight is going to be fast.
“I don’t see it going past the fourth or fifth round. All that tapping stuff that Lomachenko does, it’s not going to last for 12 rounds.
“I’ll quit boxing, and I’ll quit being a coach if my son goes 12 rounds with that dude [Lomachenko]. He ain’t got nothing to hurt my son with, so I’m good,” said Lopez Sr.
The winner of the Lomachenko-Lopez contest will hold all four titles at lightweight as the undisputed champion. That’s something that Lomachenko has wanted since he moved up to 135. Lomachenko didn’t get the opportunity to unify the super featherweight division from 2016 to 2017.
Lopez will be looking for a KO
Teofimo isn’t going to make it easy for Lomachenko, especially with his power, speed, and youth advantage. Lomachenko hasn’t met up with anyone in his professional career that has all the physical tools that Teofimo possesses.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXfKfJFfAtM
In 2014 and 2018, Lomachenko beat Gary Russell Jr and Jorge Linares, both of which had speed but not a lot of power. On October 17, Lomachenko will be facing a fighter with speed similar to Linares and Russell, but a lot more power. If Lomachenko’s chin isn’t up to the task, he’s going to get knocked out.
Lomachenko vs. Lopez has ‘Fight of the Year’ written all over it. Hopefully, the match lives up to the hype. Teofimo has the most to gain from this fight, as he’s young and already famous. He needs Lomachenko’s scalp to add to his collection to take his career to the next level.
If Lomachenko wins the fight, it won’t do as much for him. He’s not someone that is going to make considerable inroads in the area of popularity in the U.S. To become a star in boxing, you need to have an outgoing personability, and that’s an area that Loma is lacking.
“Teofimo Lopez can talk all he wants. He’s very good at talking,” said Lomachenko. He has done nothing but say my name for the past two years.
“Good for Teofimo. He will eat my punches and his words. I will be the better man, four titles will come home with me to Ukraine.”