Teofimo Lopez vs Vasiliy Lomachenko
Teofimo Lopez and Vasiliy Lomachenko will go head-to-head on September 19, 2020. The winner of the lightweight bout will walk away with the WBA, WBO, and IBF Championships. Lopez is the current holder of the IBF belt while Lomachenko currently holds both the WBO and WBA titles.
Photos: Sports.Yahoo.com, Badlefthook.com
Boxing seems to be making a slow comeback after months of being sidelined due to fear over the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of a full closure, the stadium will instead put strict social distancing guidelines in place for the event. The fight will reportedly have a limited capacity of 2,500 in attendance.
The matchup will surely be an exciting one, as the two boxers match with one another extremely well, even though they have different styles.
Interestingly, both men were both trained to fighters by their fathers at a young age, so their skills and techniques were sculpted decades ago. Lopez, who is the younger of the two men, uses his speed and quick striking ability to his advantage in the ring. Lomachenko is a heavy-hitting veteran who would rather knock his opponent out than dance with him.
There are a variety of factors that could affect the outcome of the bout, the first of which is its length. Lopez is much better suited for a fight that goes the distance than Lomachenko, as his age should help him fare better with fatigue. Nevertheless, it would be surprising if the bout went the distance, as each fighter possesses a lot of power and striking ability.
Photos: BBC.co.uk, Badlefthook.com
One man that is not concerned about a potential 5-round fight is Teofimo Lopez.
“The thing that people don’t understand is everyone wants to see me go rounds in the ring, maybe the whole fight to see how I look, [they want to see] my stamina and things like that,” said Lopez. “People need to understand that the more rounds I go, the worse it is for my opponent, and the better it is for me.”
Another factor that makes this matchup an intriguing one is a disparity in the way they choose to speak about each other to the media. Lopez has criticized Lomanchenko’s humility and promised that he would humble him. On the contrary, Lomanchenko complimented Lopez’s fighting style and skill set.
Lopez insults and banter are clear indications of his young age, while Lomanchenko’s are an indicator of his experience and veteran savvy. We will have to wait until September 19 to see whose technique works better for them.