By Vince Dwriter: Number one ranked WBO super lightweight contender Teofimo “The Takeover” Lopez has verbally stated on multiple occasions that he wants a shot at the WBO champion Josh Taylor, but before he can pursue Taylor, he must take care of business on December 10 when he faces Sandor Martin (40-2, 13 KOs) at Madison Square Garden, live on ESPN+.
Lopez captured the attention of the boxing world back in October 2020 when he earned a unanimous decision victory over Vasiliy Lomachenko. The Takeover put on a beautiful display of boxing while hampering Lomachenko’s offense by neutralizing his ability to create angles.
The first half of the fight was dominated by Lopez, but Lomachenko was able to generate effective offense at the midpoint of the bout. During the course of the championship rounds, Lopez was able to regain the momentum to finish strong, and as a result, he captured the victory and became the unified WBA, WBO, and IBF, lightweight champion.
Lopez’s reign as the unified lightweight champion would only last eleven months due to his split decision loss to George Kambosos Jr. After taking time off to clear up a few health issues, Teofimo Lopez decided to move up and resume his boxing career at 140.
He made his debut as a super lightweight in August 2022 when he faced Pedro Campa. Lopez started the fight by consistently scoring with the jab and the right hand over the top. In the seventh round, Lopez knocked Campa down when he hit him with a right hand followed by the up-jab.
Campa was able to get up off the canvas, but Lopez proceeded to hit him with a flurry of shots that forced the referee to step in and put a halt to the contest. Two months after making his debut at super lightweight, Lopez announced his second bout at 140 would be against Jose Pedraza, but three weeks later Pedraza withdrew from the bout due to a non-covid illness.
Now Teofimo Lopez (17-1, 13 KOs) will step inside the squared circle on December 10 to face his new opponent. Lopez’s goal is to eventually become a two-division world champion. He is dedicated to his craft, and he’s confident he will be victorious on Saturday night.
Sandor Martin scored a massive upset victory in October 2021 when he shocked former four-division world champion Mikey Garcia, and six months later, he collected a unanimous decision victory over Jose Felix Jr. Martin shocked the world once with his unexpected win over Garcia, and December 10 he plans on doing it again.
“It’s the biggest opportunity of my career. Coming from Spain it’s very tough to be a boxer. Eleven-year career, forty-two fights, and this is the biggest opportunity that I have gotten. It was three weeks’ notice, but I have to take the opportunity. We are about making history, and that’s why I’m here,” Martin stated at the press conference.
Teofimo Lopez is self-assured in his preparation and his boxing skills. He has the potential opportunity in 2023 to face a 140-pound champion such as Josh Taylor or Regis Prograis, but for now, Lopez is focused on Sandor Martin. After his face-off with Martin, Lopez spoke about ending the year 2022 in a proper way.
“I’m looking forward to finishing and closing out this year. We’re here to take over like we said we were and like we say we are doing. This is now, and it’s always going to be here, forever, for us. I was born for this. These guys are man-made. Teofimo is self-made. Remember that. Takeover, takeover.”
