What are the biggest matches in Teofimo Lopez’s career?

With his controversial personality and elite-level boxing skills, Teofimo Lopez has become one of the sport’s most popular names and this weekend he has an opportunity to add to his legacy

A closer look at Teofimo Lopez

While he has never hidden or shied away from the fact that he’s born and bred in New York, Teofimo Lopez actually fights under the Honduran flag, a nation that he has since represented at the Olympics - 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. Born on July 30th, 1997, Lopez was trained by his father who began the arduous task when he was just six years old. Indeed, the culmination of that journey was the aforementioned appearance in Brazil almost a decade ago. Yet, if we’re honest, Lopez was only just getting started as he became the first amateur world boxing champion and was named Boxer of the Year in 2020.

From there it was a matter of taking names as he went on to establish himself as one of the sport’s hottest products. To date, the 26-year-old has amassed a staggering record of 20-1-0 with one of those victories coming by way of knock out, and as he prepares to take on Steve Claggett (38-7-2, 26 KOs) this weekend, there is no reason to believe he can’t add to that tally. With that, we thought it pertinent to take a look at Lopez’s best performances so that you don’t have to. Take a look below to see where he’s been and who he defeated.

Lopez’s top fights

Lopez’s fight against Josh Taylor has got to be considered one of the toughest of his career. Indeed, the man known as the Tartan Tornado was undefeated at the time and as such presented the then 25-year-old fighter with a true test. Known for his durability and relentless fighting style, Taylor was never going to be a walk in the park. Yet Teofimo held his ground and notched yet another win on his way to announcing himself to the boxing world. Mention has also got to be made of his fight against Richard Commey, a contest that he won via TKO in the second round and with that, claimed the IBF lightweight title.

Lopez, was seen as one of the brightest young stars following that victory, which in turn earned him a shot at the Ukrainian sensation, Vasiliy Lomachenko. It was a fight that fans thought he would not be able to manage, with many thinking the American would be outboxed, but in the end, he was able to orchestrate a massive upset via unanimous decision in his most important victory to date. He became the undisputed lightweight champion by defeating the Ukrainian.

Sadly, it wasn’t to be all shining lights and champagne as the one defeat of Lopez’ career came with an extremely heavy price. Indeed, the only loss came by way of decision against George Kambosos Jr., which resulted in the loss of his WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO lightweight titles. Needless to say, it was a significant blow to the young fighter and resulted in him moving up to the 140-pound division. During that time it was also discovered that he suffered from pneumomediastinum, a condition involving the presence of air in the mediastinum (the central compartment of the thoracic cavity), which could have been life-threatening. This brings us to the present where Lopez currently holds no titles, however, it would be safe to say that fans expect that to change