Top Rank has confirmed that junior welterweight contender Teofimo Lopez will now face Sandor Martin on December 10 at Madison Square Garden after Jose “Sniper” Pedraza contracted a non-COVID-related illness.
Teofimo Lopez: “We wish Jose Pedraza a speedy recovery, but we look forward to facing Sandor Martin. He was the opponent we originally wanted for Heisman Night at Madison Square Garden. I will continue to silence the doubters as I take over the 140-pound division. I look forward to giving my hometown fans a special night of boxing.”
Sandor Martin: “I’ve dreamed of fighting in a main event at Madison Square Garden. This is my time. I’ve taken the risk, and I will take control against Teofimo Lopez on December 10th. I will give the fans what they want to see.”
Lopez-Martin, scheduled for 10 rounds, is a final eliminator for the WBC 140lb world title.
Teo brings a lot of excitement to the sport. Yeah, he talks smack and piss offf haters but he brings interest to our beloved sport. And we know he’s willing to take risk. The loss against Kam shouldnt have slowed him down so much. Teo didnt get beat up and Kam actually looked good against Devin.
Kam will beat most of the top lightweights, Devin is simply exceptional.
Bottonline – Kam is a top class lightweight and Teo shouldnt feel so bad about that loss.
Martin is a boxer that knows he needs to push the pace to get a win over a big name oppoenent and should make it exciting. He was good enough to make Mikey Garcia think twice about a comeback and truly retire.
Nice to see Teo able to headline the Garden again. Although, Madison Square Garden & Barclays will rule out a lot of fans that didnt want to concede to an uneffective “jab”.
I don’t think teo talks that badly. It’s his father that is a POS.
but truth be told, teo was a weight bully at 135 just like tank davis.
The fights at 140 are going to be a lot more difficult. The power will not be as significant for either of them.
In all reality they are tweeners. Too heavy for 135, but too short for 140 and up.
I’d actually be surprised if either wins a title above 135.
You don’t think Teo “talks that badly.” What him post Kam loss. He’s a sore loser. He made excuses as to why he lost and blamed everyone except himself. In fact, he said he won the fight lol.
Teo in my opinion is the more proven fighter of the “4 Kings” and I am basing it strictly on who they fought and the ranks of their opponents when compared to tug he other 3.
Sandor is the better fight to develop, grow and test the 140 division
This will also be an amazing opportunity for Sandorr too.
He showed he can step up to the moment when defeating Mikey, he showed he can box and displayed good defense and execution of a plan
Teo cant get his emotions get the best of him
Both fighters need to come out and prove that their previous fight result
was –
not a fluke victory (Sandor)
or a fluke loss (Teo)
He’s not “proven.” He only fought Loma to get his name out other. Once he fought Loma and got notoriety, he did what Lomachenko did and dodged Haney for what he thought would be an easier fight and it backfired. The only guy who truly wants the smoke is Haney but he gets dodged. He’s undisputed but came to Lomachenko’s fight calling him out. How many times have you seen an undisputed champ chase down challengers? NEVER
What a stupid haters comment, Loma hasn’t dodged anyone in his entire carreer !
Well, if Pedraza still sick, the next guy in the WBC ranking list is Jose Ramirez. Assuming Teo wins over Sandor, Teofimo Lopez vs Jose Ramirez is an awesome fight easy to make, because both are under Top Rank
I was under the impression that the winner of Prograis – Zepeda was ordered to fight Ramirez in their first defense. He was offered the fight first, but turned it down because he was getting married in October. And this is odd as a final eliminator, but a 10 round fight.
I thought Martin would be an easy win for Mikey and we know how that turned out. Should be a good 140 test for Lopez
This will let us know if Teo is a legit problem at 140
A motivated Lopez is an incredibly dangerous individual in the ring, as long as he keeps his life outside of the ring in check. He brings money to the fights, so he can sit at 140 and wait for Haney who will be there VERY soon.