Via Sean Jones: Former unified lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez will return August 13 against veteran Pedro Campa on ESPN at Resorts World in Las Vegas.
Top-Rated Teofimo supporters chose to put the 24-year-old back up against a suitable opponent rather than a quality contender.
Rumor has it that Teofimo has turned down a match against the highly ranked Arnold Barboza for his first match at the age of 140, which will be a stellar match.
Instead of going up against Barboza, Teofimo took on second-place boxer Campa in his first light-weight bout.
This is the first bout for Teofimo (16-1, 12 KOs) since he was horribly beaten to his mandatory IBF last November by George Kambosos Jr. in New York.
It’s not clear where Top Rank found Campa (34-1-1, 23 KOs), but his record is built with wins over a fluff opponent.
I guess the idea of Teofimo’s match against Campa 34-1 was that there would be beauty when his record was shown on the screen during an ESPN broadcast, and the casual boxing fan would be delighted. impressive.
In addition, there is no reason for the two conquerors Vasyl Lomachenko and Richard Commey to face this low-level opponent.
The problem with Teofimo having to go up against this type of opponent is that if he struggles, it will undermine his shaky confidence, and it could lead to his downfall.
Too bad Teofimo was beaten up by Kambosos, who was a glorified ham & egg hand before causing a huge disappointment. Before defeating Teofimo, Kambosos lived with his ex’s Mickey Bey and Lee Selby.
There’s no way Kambosos could defeat Teofimo if he’s healthy and mentally prepared for that battle.
It was a bit confusing that Teofimo and his father later both insisted that they deserved the decision against Kambosos because they obviously lost.
When a boxer denies a defeat, like Teofimo, it’s an unhealthy defense mechanism that tries to protect them from facing a harsh reality they don’t want to accept.
The fact that Teofimo chose to fight second-place boxer Campa rather than Barboza shows that he knows he’s lost to Kambosos, and he’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.
Facing a low-level opponent like this in Campa is a red flag that Teofimo or Top Tank might worry about mentally recovering from defeat.
In recent interviews, Teofimo’s once smug personality has changed, and he seems to be more humble and quiet. It was a huge blow to lose to a mediocre fighter like Kambosos, and he was still trying to accept that defeat.
“The battle of Teofimo Lopez-Pedro Campa on August 13 will be at Resorts World in Las Vegas,” Mike Coppinger told. ESPN.
“Lopez, who will make a 140-pound debut, will fight for the first time since a nasty loss to George Kambosos in a 135-pound title fight.”
