Former unified lightweight world champion Teofimo Lopez looks to bounce back from his only career defeat this Saturday, as he steps up to super lightweight to take on Pedro Campa in Las Vegas.
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Lopez burst onto the professional scene in 2016, as he turned professional under Bob Arum's Top Rank promotional banner. Lopez's first fight was a two-round firefight on the undercard of Jessie Vargas vs Manny Pacquiao, as Lopez was sent to the canvas in round one by Ishwar Siqueiros but would also drop Siqueiros in the same round, before finishing him in the second.
Lopez would pick up a statement victory in his 11th bout, as he would dispatch the experienced Mason Menard in just a round as Lopez looked to cruise toward world titles, as he would enter the IBF rankings following this victory. Next in Lopez's way was another experienced fighter in Diego Magdaleno. Magdaleno would take Lopez into the seventh round but that was where Lopez finished the job. Former European champion Edis Tatli travelled to the US to face Lopez next, however, Tatli would not see past the fifth round. A unanimous decision victory over Masayoshi Nakatani would set up a world title shot for Lopez. Richard Commey was the IBF world champion and would defend against Lopez. Lopez sent Commey to the canvas in round two which would see the bout stopped and the world title reign of Lopez begin.
Lopez would prove his warrior mentality next, as he stepped straight into a unification bout with WBA and WBO world champion Vasyl Lomachenko. Lomachenko is highly regarded as one of the greatest operators in boxing, as he was a three-weight world champion within 15 fights. However, Lomachenko would be tamed by Lopez, as Lopez put on a career-best performance to beat Lomachenko by a unanimous decision. Lopez would face his IBF mandatory George Kambosos Jr. next but would be handed his first career defeat, as Kambosos Jr. would drop Lopez on the way to a split decision.
Campa has been a professional since 2011 and has acquired a record of 34-1-1 with 23 of his victories coming by the way of knockout. Campa has fought in his home country of Mexico for most of his career, as the only time he has fought outside of Mexico, he would defeat Aaron Herrera in Glendale, USA. Campa has only lost once in his career, which came at the hands of Carlos Jimenez via seventh-round knockout in 2017. Campa will return to the US this weekend and look to cause a seismic upset when he faces Lopez.
Lopez and Campa lock horns this Saturday in Resorts World, Las Vegas. The bout will be shown live on ESPN in the US and can be watched live in the UK on Sky Sports.