Maybe Vasiliy Lomachenko was too small for Teofimo Lopez Jr. Maybe the Ukrainian has begun to decline, as some had suggested. Maybe a 14-month layoff played a role. Maybe Lopez is just that good.
All of these factors probably dragged Lomachenko down in a memorable title-unification fight Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Lopez, the brash 23-year-old from Brooklyn, did what few thought he could do – he outboxed a boxing master and survived a spirited rally from Lomachenko to win a stunning unanimous decision and all four of the major lightweight titles.
The winner seemed to be fighting back tears when he was interviewed immediately after the fight.
“I have to thank God. I had to dig deep,” he said. “… It feels good.”
Lopez and his father-trainer of the same name had been pursing a fight with Lomachenko for a few years, certain that they would have success against Boxing Junkie’s No. 1 fighter in the world pound for pound.
Knowledgeable observers gave him a decent chance of winning because of his size and power advantages. But a decision over the great Lomachenko? Unthinkable. And then it happened.
Lopez (16-0, 12 KOs) fought with measured aggression in the early rounds, primarily jabbing and targeting the body of his opponent. Lomachenko (14-2, 10 KOs) moved about the ring deftly to avoid many of Lopez’s punches and measure his opponent, as he always does, but he allowed Lopez to out work him the first half the fight.
Was he rusty because of the layoff? Was he too respectful of Lopez’s power? Was Lopez too quick and perhaps better than he thought? Whatever the reason, he didn’t throw many punches and fell behind as a result.
Lomachenko began to fight with more urgency in Round 7 and was attacking Lopez by the following round. He wasn’t careless – which could’ve been disastrous – but he began to impose his will and give himself a chance to rally.
Lopez seemed almost stunned at Lomachenko’s sudden aggression but he never panicked and continued to fight back effectively, making rounds seven through 11 competitive even if Lomachenko seemed to gain the momentum.
Lopez’s father, believing his son was well ahead on the cards, told him to box in the 12th and final round. He ignored the advice. He came out on fire, beating Lomachenko to the punch at every turn and clearly landing the bigger shots.
“I’m a fighter,” he said. “I gotta dig deep. I knew he was coming. I can’t give him that. I don’t know if they got him up on the scorecards or not. I love to fight. I could bang too. I’ll take one to give one.
“That’s what a true champion does, go out there and find a way to win.”
He won by a mile. The scores were 116-112, 119-109 and 117-111. Boxing Junkie had it 116-112 in favor of Lopez.
The CompuBox statistics supported the scoring and reflected what happened in the ring. Lopez landed 183 of 659 punches (28%), Lomachenko 141 of 321 (44%). Lopez had a big advantage over Lomachenko in power shots, 148-78.
Still, Lomachenko, his face red and bruised, said afterward that he believes he did enough to win the fight.
“I think the first half of the fight, yeah, he got more rounds than I did,” he said. “Then, in the second half of the fight, I took it over. I was much better. I want to go home and review the fight … but I definitely am not agreeing with the scorecards.
“… At the moment I think I was winning the fight, but the result is the result. I’m not going to argue right now.”
Lopez, with the four belts hanging from his body, was asked what he and his father saw in Lomachenko that led them to believe he could do what he did on Saturday.
“Honestly, you gotta keep the pressure on him, keep the gas on,” he said. “Stick the jab, don’t give him an opportunity to set up. And every time he wanted to throw I had something ready for him, something to throw. That kind of stopped his momentum.
“On top of that he’d been on a 14-month layoff. I knew it was take him a long time to catch up.”
He never did. It was Lopez’s night. And it’s sure to change his career and life. He’s a major star now, a true pound-for-pounder, which translates into more big fights and equally big money. He’ll have many options going forward.
This is what he and father envisioned all along.
“It’s the takeover, man,” he said. “All it is, it’s time for my generation to come up. And it was up for me to lead the way for everybody.”