Former unified lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez will be back for another tune-up fight on December 10th against former two-division world champion Jose ‘Sniper’ Pedraza on ESPN at Madison Square Garden in New York. The action will kick off on ESPN and ESPN+ at 9:00 p.m. ET.
The 33-year-old Pedraza (29-4-1, 14 KOs) should give Teofimo a good test because he’s got a lot of technical skills, much like George Kambosos Jr.
If Teofimo loses or looks bad against Pedraza, there’s cause to worry about his future at 140. Teofimo would need to decide on sticking it out at 140 or perhaps moving up to 147.
Of course, if Teofimo can’t cut the mustard against the likes of Pedraza, there would be no point in moving up to 147 and getting manhandled by Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis or Vergil Ortiz Jr.
With a good nutritionist, Teofimo could move back down to 135 and take advantage of his size advantage over the smaller fighters to see if he could duplicate the success he enjoyed earlier.
Top Rank is still taking their time with ‘Takeover’ Teofimo Lopez, going slow with him after he was shockingly beaten by the unheralded George Kambosos Jr last November in New York.
That wasn’t supposed to happen, but Teofimo made the mistake of taking the fight while he was injured, ill, and badly weight-drained. It was a mad witches’ brew of problems that Teofimo had that night against Kambosos, resulting in him getting upset.
The 25-year-old Teofimo (17-1, 13 KOs) recently debuted at 140 against little-known Pedro Campa last August, stopping him in the seventh round.
Although Teofimo didn’t look as powerful in the new weight class as he’d been fighting smaller fighters than himself at 135, he still had enough pop in his punches to stop Campa in a surprisingly competitive fight.
Undercard fights:
- Jared Anderson vs. Jerry Forrest
- Xander Zayas vs. Alexis Salazar
- Keyshawn Davis vs. Juan Carlos Burgos
“Four of boxing’s mega talents, headlined by the great Teofimo Lopez, will be in action December 10 at the iconic Madison Square Garden. This will be a special evening,” said Bob Arum. “Lopez is targeting a junior welterweight title shot in 2023.”
At this point, it’s still premature whether Teofimo will get a title shot next year. First, he’s got to beat Pedraza, which isn’t a sure thing for him. If we see the same mental break down as it occurred against Kambosos, it’s quite possible that Pedraza will beat Teofimo.
