Lomachenko deserves a rematch with Teofimo Lopez

By Boxing News - 10/19/2020 - Comments

By Jim Maltman: Vasily Lomachenko will surely be calling for a rematch against Teofimo Lopez at some point in the near future for him to avenge his loss. After the fight, Lopez, 23, and his dad, Teofimo Sr were quick to rule out giving Lomachenko (14-2, 10 KOs) a rematch, saying that there’s nothing to gain in fighting him again.

However, the download that Lomachenko did in the latter part of the fight would suggest that he now knows how to beat Teofimo, and his dad is aware of that as well.

Hi-Tech created the blueprint to beat Teofimo

Lomachenko showed in the second half of the fight that he now knows how to beat Teofimo by using pressure and forcing him to fight at a fast pace. Teofimo looked gassed out after just one hard round of being pushed by Lomachenko in the 8th.

What we saw clearly was Teofimo CANNOT handle pressure, and he tires rapidly when fighting someone that stays on top of him the way Loma did in rounds 8 through 12. Teofimo looked shaky until the 12th round, which is when he got his second wind and emptied what was left to of his gas tank.

Image: Lomachenko deserves a rematch with Teofimo Lopez

Since losing to Lopez (16-0, 12 KOs) by a 12 round unanimous decision last Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, a large number of boxing fans have surfaced to say that the fight should have been scored a 12 round draw.

In the eyes of a high number of people, Lomachenko appeared to win six rounds, which should have been enough for him to be given a draw.

The judges scored it 116-112, 119-109, and 117-111. Loma’s promoter Bob Arum didn’t complain about Teofimo winning the fight, but he did have a lot to say about the judge, Julie Lederman, who scored 11 rounds to 1 [119-109] for Teofimo.

Her score doesn’t match the fight that took place last Saturday night; it’s too odd for it to be taken seriously. That’s another reason why a rematch should be considered.

When you see the wide scored turned in by Lederman and the judge that had it 117-111 for Teofimo, it’s upsetting to the fans, who are confused about how the judges could score a razor-close fight the way they did.

If Teofimo doesn’t give Lomachenko a rematch, then the talented Ukrainian fighter should move back down to 126 or 130. He’s giving away too much size to his opponents, which puts him at a big disadvantage.

Most fans scored Lomachenko-Teofimo 7-5

Image: Lomachenko deserves a rematch with Teofimo Lopez

“There’s nothing to disagree with,” said Kellerman said to Max on Boxing on ESPN when asked if he agrees with the Lopez vs. Lomachenko decision. “As far as boxing goes, it has a quirky way of scoring.

“It’s round by round unless there’s a knockdown; it’s, it’s one point per round. Sometimes you can see a fight at the end and go ‘fighter A won.’ But when you break it down round by round, you go, ‘I guess it was six to six.’

“For those who had Lopez-Lomachenko as a draw, because you couldn’t possibly have Lomachenko winning the fight. It’s like this. Here are the definitive rounds. Rounds three through six and twelve were definitely Lopez.

“That’s six rounds. That’s at least a draw. Lomachenko won rounds eight through eleven. That’s for sure. That’s four rounds. So one fighter won six rounds definitely, and one fighter won four. Rounds two and seven could have gone either way.

“So I would say the possible range of scores is eight rounds to four for Lopez to six-six draw. I would say that most of the scores were around the middle. 7-5 Lopez.”

If you look closely at the first six rounds, Lomachenko fought well enough to win at least one if not two of them. Loma landed some nice shots in the sixth, and he started to take over beginning in the 7th.

It’s reasonable to say that Lomachenko got the better of Teofimo in rounds six and seven in addition to rounds 8, 9, 10, and 11. If you look at those rounds in slow motion, you’ll see that Lomachenko landed the cleaner punches.

The punches that Teofimo appeared to land when you watch the fight at full speed were ones that hit Lomachenko’s gloves or where glancing blows.

Teofimo was elusive

Image: Lomachenko deserves a rematch with Teofimo Lopez

“He fought a great fight. They say a good big man beats a good little man,” Kellerman continued. “He [Teofimo] didn’t listen to his dad say, ‘You got the fight won.’

“When Lomachenko came for him, he was like, ‘I’m a fighter. I’m not backing up,'” said Stephen A Smith. “And he made sure to show the world at 23 years of age, ‘I’m a champion, and you’re going to have to come to take this from me. I’m not going to give you a damn thing.’

“I loved his quickness. We know about Lopez’s power, but I’m talking about his quickness defensively. Obviously, Lomachenko caught him with a few shots as the fight waned, but I saw Lopez being elusive, and I love that.

“It’s one thing to have the power and the quickness to go along with the power offensively. A lot of guys can look good until they get hit. There were times where he got hit, and there were other times where he was slipping Lomachenko’s punches, and you don’t see that.

“We all know that Lomachenko’s footwork is exceptional. It’s practically unrivaled. So you can see what he’s to numerous fighters that have contributed to them quitting like Nicholas Walters and others.

“He tried that with Lopez, and it didn’t work. Lopez’s footwork worked, his speed was there and power obviously, but his elusivity is what he impressed me most. The fact that he was able to slip some, but not all [of Lomachenko’s punches],, and I loved it.”

“He wouldn’t allow Lomachenko to establish his outside foot,” said Kellerman on Teofimo’s positioning inside the ring.

Teofimo played it safe, and he showed a great deal of respect for Lomachenko. He looked scared of Lomachenko, which resulted in him holding back and not taking advantage of his huge size, power, and youth advantage.

The only round where Teofimo didn’t look timid was in the 12th, and that was because he perhaps knew how close the fight was. Teofimo wouldn’t have fought that way if he thought he had a wide lead. He knew it was close, so he went all bout.

Lomachenko felt the power

Image: Lomachenko deserves a rematch with Teofimo Lopez

“Coming into the fight, everyone thought it was going to be Mayweather-Canelo when they fought, and he [Teofimo] would be outclassed,” said Ryan Clark. “When you look at the first six rounds, it was about patience.

“He was patient. And he didn’t rush himself. He used his jab, and that was something was are used to seeing him do. Obviously, Lomachenko came on, but what I was most impressed with was the last round.

“When his father was telling him, ‘You got this fight,’ he went out and took it. He understood that Lomachenko was going to continue to press and continue to get in range.

“And when he got in range, he [Teofimo] made sure to punch him out of it. You could see that Lomachenko felt that power, and he understood that ‘if I keep putting myself in this position, there’s a possibility that this young bull can knock me out.’

“I don’t get wrapped up in boxing the way I did last Saturday when the heartbeats were playing before the fight. My heart was beating fast. I had anxiety, and I’m feeling that way.

“Then I go out and watch this young 23-year-old [Teofimo] be calm and be confident and be patient. There were rounds where he’d win the rounds, and then he’d wink off to the sides, ‘I got this.’

“I thought to be fighting such a great fighter like Lomachenko, but to have the understanding of what to do was amazing to me.”

Lomachenko felt the power from Teofimo, but it didn’t bother him. He could handle it. Teofimo looked worried about taking Lomachenko’s power shots in the second half of the fight and was crumbling from the combination punching.

Lomachenko vs. Lopez appeared even in 12th

Image: Lomachenko deserves a rematch with Teofimo Lopez

“You both brought up the twelfth round, and I totally agree. The fight felt like it hung in the balance, and his father said, ‘Don’t fight, you’ve got this won.’ That’s not Teofimo Lopez,” said Kellerman.

“Do you know what it reminded me of? Hagler-Leonard. Okay, I’m going all the way back to the 80s. Sugar Ray Leonard jumped out to a big lead just like Lopez did [against Lomachenko].

“Marvin Hagler, who was the best pound-for-pound back then, just like Lomachenko a lot of people think is, tarted pouring it on. Lomachenko was head-butting him, roughing and beating him up a little bit.

“In the ninth round, Hagler is coming on, oh here it comes, and Sugar Ray flurried off the ropes. Do you remember that? And wouldn’t let Hagler take the play away. That’s what it reminded me of.

“The way that Lopez fought Lomachenko off and dominated him in the 12th. That is one of the signature moments in a kid’s career and could wind up in the Hall of Fame one day.”

“This is what we should walk away with. As good as Lomachenko is, Lopez is better for boxing in my estimation,” said Smith. “His power, his knockout percentage, his personality. We need that in boxing, and that’s why I was rooting for him.”

The fight appeared to be even going into the 12th round, and that was where Teofimo cliched the win by going all out. However, you can still find six rounds that Lomachenko won if you rematch the fight and look closely at the action.