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Boxing
Teofimo Lopez finishes off an overmatched Pedro Campa in successful debut at 140 pounds
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Teofimo Lopez's shocking loss to George Kambosos two days after Thanksgiving ruined any chances of the popular New Yorker partaking in super fights with the likes of Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia, and Gervonta Davis. Now operating at junior welterweight, the former three-belt lightweight champion began his journey to becoming a two-division world champion on Saturday against Pedro Campa.
Campa was designed to be a bounce-back opponent. He's a guy that stands in the pocket, a heavy volume puncher, which is exactly the style tailor-made foe in this fight. It took a little longer than most expected. When it was all said and done, Lopez dropped Campa early in the seventh and overwhelmed with a fury moment later to earn the TKO victory at the 2:14 mark of the stanza. DAZN had it scored 59-55 for Lopez at the time of the stoppage.
“Being at 135 was killing my body,” Lopez said in his post-fight interview. “I just turned 25, and we want Josh Taylor. We want all these guys. We want (Regis) Prograis. We want (Jose) Zepeda. We want all the belts. That’s really who we want. We want to become a two-time world champion.”
Lopez was methodical in the early going. He kept pumping the jab at different body parts with an occasional overhand right. When Campa threw, his shots didn't resonate. As soon Lopez figured that out, he started dancing, swiveling his hips to let Campa know he couldn't hurt him.
After a fifth round in which he took off, Lopez went back to work in the sixth and made Campa's left eye target practice with the jab and left hook. By the time the seventh round came around, Campa was ripe for the taking and Lopez took advantage.
Both guys came out swinging to begin the event, but Lopez won the exchange, dropping Campa with a right cross and a left hand. Campa made it back to his feet but it was the beginning of the end. With Campa on the ropes, Lopez unloaded a barrage of punches, and referee Tony Weeks stepped in and waved it off.
Now that Lopez got that fight under his belt, what is next for the 25-year-old? The promoter of Ryan Garcia, Oscar De La Hoya, was in attendance as he was invited by Lopez and DAZN's Chris Mannix reports De La Hoya and Top Rank, who promotes Lopez, will be meeting sometime after the fight to discuss whether the bout is a possibility. When asked didn't give a definitive answer on if he wanted Garcia next. He made it clear though when he'd like to return.
“We’re gonna be in the big room this time, Madison Square Garden on Dec. 10," Lopez said.
"I’m ready to eat all these boys. They’re all man-made. Teofimo is self-made, they can never make another one.”
Here is what happened at Teofimo Lopez vs. Pedro Campa.
