Teofimo Lopez put on an impressive and disciplined performance this past Saturday night against Vasiliy Lomachenko to unify the lightweight titles, becoming the youngest fighter in the division to do so at age 23.
Lopez (16-0, 12 KOs) controlled the pace early on, using his jab and putting in body work, while Lomachenko bid his time, trying to figure him out.
By the midway point of the fight, Lomachenko (14-2, 10 KOs) was still fighting tentatively as Lopez continued putting rounds in the bank.
Finally in the seventh round, Lomachenko began letting his hands go, connecting with combinations and putting Lopez on the defensive for the first time. Lopez however, continued coming forward and wouldn’t allow Lomachenko to completely turn the tide in the fight.
While the second half of the fight was more competitive than the first, it was clear that Lomachenko had simply given away too many of the earlier rounds, with credit due to Lopez for sticking to his gameplan and staying aggressive from the start.
Final scores were 119-109, 118-110, and 116-112 for Lopez. 3MoreRounds had it 116-112 for Lopez.
Said Lopez after the fight, “I had to dig deep, man. I’m thankful. I’m grateful. And each and every day, I take that in. I thank God first because I couldn’t do it without him.
“I’m a fighter. I gotta dig in deep. I knew he was coming. I didn’t know if they had him up on the scorecards or not, and I love to fight. I can bang, too. I don’t care, man. I’ll take one to give one. That’s what a true champion does. I find a way to win.
“You just gotta keep pressuring him, press the gas, stick the jab, and don’t really give him that opportunity to set up. Every time he did want to throw, I had something ready for him,” added Lopez, who broke Lomachenko’s 13-fight win streak.
