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The Nurturing of Teofimo Lopez, ‘The Takeover’

Last weekend on the undercard of the ESPN and Top Rank Pay-Per-View headlined by the welterweight showdown between Terence Crawford and Amir Khan, the sport’s top prospect, lightweight Teofimo Lopez, returned to action. Lopez stopped Edis Tatli, a former two-time European champion who hadn’t previously been stopped, with a body shot in the fifth round to improve his record to 13-0 (11 KOs). For Lopez it was just the latest impressive performance as he continues to talk about “taking over” the sport and becoming its biggest star attraction, while his fists back up those claims each time he fights.
The 21-year-old Lopez and his outspoken father-trainer Teofimo Lopez Sr. insist they are more than ready to fight the elite fighters in the sport. As a former amateur standout and 2016 Olympian for his father’s native Honduras, his background in the sport suggests his goals are anything but a pipedream. His brash pronouncements during his rise through the pro ranks are nothing new in the sport. In fact, it’s something that Top Rank Promotions, Lopez’s promotional company since he turned professional in the fall of 2016, has overseen plenty of times in the past.
Top Rank has truly cemented itself as the prime promotional company for developing star attractions. Two of the biggest money-makers of the past generation, future Hall of Famers Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Miguel Cotto, were both nurtured promotionally by Top Rank. Oscar De La Hoya from a generation before also saw his early career guided by Top Rank. Each of those three fighters had proved by their thirteenth professional fight that they were not far off from fighting for championship glory. So as Lopez continues to blaze a fast track, is it farfetched to think that he is talking out of place when he talks about conquering the best in the world, and very soon?
By his twelfth professional fight, Miguel Cotto had fought two former world title challengers, Justin Juuko and John Brown. They provided him in-ring experience and seasoning before he claimed his first world championship in his twenty-first professional bout. Mayweather and De La Hoya were on a faster track. De La Hoya fought Jeff Mayweather (Floyd’s uncle) in just his fifth fight. He won his first world title in just his thirteenth fight when he beat Jimmi Bredahl and by his eighteenth pro fight owned two world title belts. As for Mayweather, he won his first world championship in his eighteenth fight, beating super featherweight title-holder Genaro Hernandez. In fact, many were surprised that Mayweather was able to beat Hernandez so easily as Hernandez was considered the best fighter in the weight class.
Each fighter while having early success and similar pedigrees differed in their approaches outside the ring. This is something that makes boxing unique from team sports. With boxing, fans tend to grow attached to specific fighters based on different variables. Sometimes it’s for the way a fighter fights inside of the ring and sometimes it’s how the fighter carries himself outside the ring. And sometimes it’s a combination of both.
Cotto was a stoic fighter, a poker-faced assassin who was revered for his never-say-die attitude and rarely said a negative thing about another fighter. Oscar De La Hoya, with his matinee idol good looks, was the sport’s poster boy and corporate America’s dream athlete as his appeal reached many different demographic groups. Mayweather originally seemed to be a humble kid looking to bring the Mayweather name to heights that his father and uncles were once on the cusp of achieving. However, he would eventually trade that in for an exaggerated persona depicting the excesses of wealth, while boasting that he was the greatest fighter of all time. It’s not really defined where Lopez’s personality will land him in comparison to these three legends. He may wind up being a combination of all three.
What is clear is that these former Olympians were able to make the quick transition to the paid ranks, making significant impacts quickly under the Top Rank banner. With recent victories over the likes of Mason Menard, Diego Magdaleno, and now Tatli in dominating performances, it’s easy to understand why Lopez would want to challenge the best the sport has to offer.
When Lopez joined Max Kellerman on Kellerman’s weekly half hour boxing show, he said that he wanted to fight the fighter many view as the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world, Vasyl Lomachenko. Lopez stated that he doesn’t respect any man besides his father, that he fears no man, and that there were four or five ways to beat Lomachenko.
Many think that Teofimo is getting ahead of himself, but one thing is true: While the legends won titles quickly, they weren’t beating the best the sport had to offer in their respective weight classes until they themselves had reached their physical primes. So, this might just be where Lopez can separate himself from the other fast risers that Top Rank nurtured into big stars.
What was interesting was how Lomachenko responded to what Lopez had to say on Kellerman’s show. “I don’t know why everyone is asking me about Lopez,” said Lomachenko after his latest victory over Anthony Crolla. “Lopez hasn’t fought anyone, no champions.” (This statement was somewhat ironic as coming out of the amateur ranks Lomachenko demanded that whichever promoter he signed with needed to get him a title shot immediately and he got to fight for a world title in only his second professional bout.)
Barring Lomachenko, Lopez has stated that he wants to fight Richard Commey, the current IBF world lightweight champion. But Commey also has his eyes on Lomachenko who he was scheduled to fight on April 12, a fight that fell to Crolla when Commey suffered a hand injury. Commey recently stated that he would like a tune-up fight this summer before finally fighting Lomachenko in a unification bout later this year and that would seem to rule out Lopez who may not get his title shot until he moves up a weight class, which will eventually happen.
Whatever the immediate future holds for him, however, Teofimo Lopez, with Top Rank’s continued nurturing, may yet reach the highest summit of the sport, achieving his “takeover.”
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Argentina’s Fernando Martinez Wins His Rematch with Kazuto Ioka

In an excellent fight climaxed by a furious 12th round, Argentina’s Fernando Daniel Martinez came off the deck to win his rematch with Kazuto Ioka and retain his piece of the world 115-pound title. The match was staged at Ioka’s familiar stomping grounds, the Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo.
In their first meeting on July 7 of last year in Tokyo, Martinez was returned the winner on scores of 117-111, 116-112, and a bizarre 120-108. The rematch was slated for late December, but Martinez took ill a few hours before the weigh-in and the bout was postponed.
The 33-year-old Martinez, who came in sporting a 17-0 (9) record, was a 7-2 favorite to win the sequel, but there were plenty of reasons to favor Ioka, 36, aside from his home field advantage. The first Japanese male fighter to win world titles in four weight classes, Ioka was 3-0 in rematches and his long-time trainer Ismael Salas was on a nice roll. Salas was 2-0 last weekend in Times Square, having handled upset-maker Rolly Romero and Reito Tsutsumi who was making his pro debut.
But the fourth time was not a charm for Ioka (31-4-1) who seemingly pulled the fight out of the fire in round 10 when he pitched the Argentine to the canvas with a pair of left hooks, but then wasn’t able to capitalize on the momentum swing.
Martinez set a fast pace and had Ioka fighting off his back foot for much of the fight. Beginning in round seven, Martinez looked fatigued, but the Argentine was conserving his energy for the championship rounds. In the end, he won the bout on all three cards: 114-113, 116-112, 117-110.
Up next for Fernando Martinez may be a date with fellow unbeaten Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, the lineal champion at 115. San Antonio’s Rodriguez is a huge favorite to keep his title when he defends against South Africa’s obscure Phumelela Cafu on July 19 in Frisco, Texas.
As for Ioka, had he won today’s rematch, that may have gotten him over the hump in so far as making it into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. True, winning titles in four weight classes is no great shakes when the bookends are only 10 pounds apart, but Ioka is still a worthy candidate.
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Emanuel Navarrete Survives a Bloody Battle with Charly Suarez in San Diego

In a torrid battle Mexico’s Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete and his staccato attack staved off the herky-jerky non-stop assaults of Philippine’s Charly Suarez to win by technical decision and retain the WBO super feather world title on Saturday.
What do they feed these guys?
Navarrete (40-2-1, 32 KOs) and his elongated arms managed to connect enough to compensate against the surprising Suarez (18-1, 10 KOs) who wowed the crowd at Pechanga Arena in San Diego.
An accidental clash of heads opened a cut on the side of Navarrete’s left eye and forced a stoppage midway through the fight.
From the opening round Navarrete used his windmill style of attack with punches from different angles that caught Suarez multiple times early. It did not matter. Suarez fired back with impunity and was just as hungry to punch it out with the Mexican fighter.
It was savage.
Every time Navarrete connected solidly, he seemed to pause and check out the damage. Bad idea. Suarez would immediately counter with bombs of his own and surprise the champion with his resilience and tenacity.
Wherever they found Suarez they should look for more, because the Filipino fighter from Manila was ferocious and never out of his depth.
Around the sixth round the Mexican fighter seemed a little drained and puzzled at the tireless attacks coming from Suarez. During an exchange of blows a cut opened up on Navarrete and it was ruled an accidental clash of heads by the referee. Blood streamed down the side of Navarrete’s face and it was cleared by the ringside physician.
But at the opening of the eighth round, the fight was stopped and the ringside physician ruled the cut was too bad to continue. The California State Athletic Commission looked at tape of the round when the cut opened to decipher if it was an accidental butt or a punch that caused the cut. It was unclear so the referee’s call of accidental clash of heads stood as the final ruling.
Score cards from the judges saw Navarrete the winner by scores of 78-75, 77-76 twice. He retains the WBO title.
Interim IBF Lightweight Title
The sharp-shooting Raymond “Danger” Muratalla (23-0, 17 KOs) maneuvered past Russia’s Zaur Abdullaev (20-2, 12 KOs) by unanimous decision to win the interim IBF lightweight title after 12 rounds.
Both fighters were strategic in their approach with Muratalla switching from orthodox to southpaw at various times of the fight. Neither fighter was ever able to dominant any round.
Defense proved the difference between the two lightweights. Muratalla was able to slip more blows than Abdullaev and that proved the difference. The fighter from Fontana, California was able to pierce Abdullaev’s guard more often than not, especially with counter punches.
Abdullaev was never out of the fight. The Russian fighter was able to change tactics and counter the counters midway through the fight. It proved effective especially to the body. But it was not enough to offset Muratalla’s accuracy.
There were no knockdowns and after 12 rounds the judges scored it 118-110, 119-109 twice for Muratalla who now becomes the mandatory for the IBF lightweight title should Vasyl Lomachenko return to defend it.
Muratalla was brief.
“He was a tough fighter,” said Muratalla. “My defense is something I work on a lot.”
Perla Wins
Super flyweight Perla Bazaldua (2-0) eased past Mona Ward (0-2) with a polished display of fighting at length and inside.
Combination punching and defense allowed Bazaldua to punch in-between Ward’s attacks and force the St. Louis fighter to clinch repeatedly. But Ward hung in there despite taking a lot of blows. After four rounds the Los Angeles-based Bazaldua was scored the winner 40-36 on all three cards. Bazaldua signed a long term contract with Top Rank in March.
Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank
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Late Bloomer Anthony Cacace TKOs Hometown Favorite Leigh Wood in Nottingham

Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions was at Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, England, tonight with a card featuring hometown favorite Leigh Wood against Ireland’s Anthony “Apache” Cacace.
Wood, a former two-time WBA featherweight champion, known for dramatic comebacks in bouts he was losing, may have reached the end of the road at age 36. He had his moments tonight, rocking Cacace on several occasions and winning the eighth round, but he paid the price, returning to his corner after round eight with swelling around both of his eyes.
In the ninth, Cacace, an 11/5 favorite, hurt Wood twice with left hands, the second of which knocked Wood into the ropes, dictating a standing 8-count by referee John Latham. When the bout resumed, Cacace went for the kill and battered Wood around the ring, forcing Wood’s trainer Ben Davison to throw in the towel. The official time was 2:15 of round nine.
Akin to Wood, Northern Ireland’s Cacace (24-1, 9 KOs) is also 36 years old and known as a late bloomer. This was his ninth straight win going back to 2017 (he missed all of 2018 and 2020). He formerly held the IBF 130-pound world title, a diadem he won with a stoppage of then-undefeated and heavily favored Joe Cordina, but that belt wasn’t at stake tonight as Cacace abandoned it rather than fulfill his less-lucrative mandatory. Wood falls to 28-4.
Semi-Wind-Up
Nottingham light heavyweight Ezra Taylor, fighting in his hometown for the first time since pro debut, delighted his fan base with a comprehensive 10-round decision over previously undefeated Troy Jones. Taylor, who improved to 12-0 (9) won by scores of 100-90, 99-91, and 98-92.
This was Taylor’s first fight with new trainer Malik Scott, best known for his work with Deontay Wilder. The victory may have earned him a match with Commonwealth title-holder Lewis Edmondson. Jones was 12-0 heading in.
Other Bouts of Note
In his first fight as a featherweight, Liam Davies rebounded from his first defeat with a 12-round unanimous decision over Northern Ireland’s previously undefeated Kurt Walker. Davies, who improved to 17-1 (8), staved off a late rally to prevail on scores of 115-113, 116-112, and 117-111. It was the first pro loss for the 30-year-old Walker (12-1), a Tokyo Olympian.
In a mild upset, Owen Cooper, a saucy Worcestershire man, won a 10-round decision over former Josh Taylor stablemate Chris Kongo. The referee’s scorecard read 96-94.
Cooper improved to 11-1 (4). It was the third loss in 20 starts for Kongo.
A non-televised 8-rounder featured junior welterweight Sam Noakes in a stay-busy fight. A roofer by trade and the brother of British welterweight title-holder Sean Noakes, Sam improved to 17-0 (15 KOs) with a third-round stoppage of overmatched Czech import Patrik Balez (13-5-1).
Photo credit: Leigh Dawney / Queensberry
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