This fight was aired on ESPN, so I was able to watch for free, which is a nice touch given the economic downturn associated with the Covid-19. Ultimately, I feel the right man won, and I believe Teofimo Lopez clearly won this fight, I scored it approximately 116-112, but I can see 117-111 to 115-113.
Vasyl Lomachenko and his team I thought fought a terrible game plan, they literally almost gave away the first half of the fight. Many of the first six rounds, Lomachenko was throwing less than 10 punches a round making it essentially impossible for him to win the rounds. Lomachenko did much better in the 2nd half, but the reality is the fight was lost in the first half of the fight. If you're a puncher (Wilder, Kovalev, Golovkin, etc.) you can afford to give rounds away because you can come on late and win by KO but Lomachenko has never been a puncher in his career, his KO's are all stoppages, not KO's, and he moved up in weight. I am curious to see an explanation by Lomachenko and his corner as to why they threw so few punches and gave away the first half of the fight? Was the plan for Lomachenko to win by KO late? And if so, what a truly bizarre gameplan considering Lomachenko is not a puncher and Lopez is the bigger man. The plan should have been to win rounds. Lomachenko lost the first 6 rounds (barring arguably round 2) of the fight. Once we got into the second half, it was an uphill, impossible battle for Lomachenko. Once both fighters began exchanging punches I would say Lomachenko landed the better punches which leads me to believe if Lomachenko had simply thrown more punches and engaged more in early rounds, he would have won the fight. Lomachenko's performance in the first 6 rounds was reminiscent of Wladimir Klitschko VS Tyson Fury.
I said before the fight, and watching the fight I do believe that Lopez's size and strength were apparent and there is a reason weight classes exist in boxing. It looked like a Lightweight VS a Welterweight. Perhaps that is an explanation as to why Lomachenko did not let his hands go in the first half of the fight, due to being cautious of getting tagged in return.
Lomachenko has been a great Champion, his wins over Rigondeaux, Walters, and Russell Jr. were his best works unfortunately this fight "was for all the marbles" and would crown the first 4 Belt Undisputed Lightweight Champion in History and he lost it. I do think historically, this will be remembered as the most important fight of his career.
For Teofimo Lopez I can just congratulate him and say well done. Race aside, I call the fight like I see it and he deserved the win. It's truly remarkable that a 23 year old young man has beaten the #1 P4P fighter in the world. It is a legendary win by Teofimo Lopez and although it was not the most exciting fight, it will go down in history and be remembered for years. I believe as Teofimo's career unfolds, this will remain his high point.
When you look at the Mayweather's and Canelo's and even Calzaghe's of boxing, none of them did what Teofimo Lopez just did. Teofimo took a massive risk in fighting Lomachenko at a time when Loma was on a winning streak, and Teofimo was a clear underdog. Mayweather, Canelo, and even Calzaghe fought their entire careers being risk-averse, avoiding guys in their primes and on winning streaks, and the truth is neither 3 of these guys ever took on a risk of the magnitude Teofimo Lopez just did. In fact neither 3 of these guys even took on a risk that was half in magnitude as Lopez just did. This is a win for the ages by Teofimo and I think as a single win, tops anything on Mayweather's, Canelo's, or Calzaghe's record. Teofimo, at only 23 years, just took on and beat the #1 P4P in the world, as a clear underdog, at a time when Lomachenko is close to at his best and on a solid win streak. It's an A+ win for Teofimo Lopez. Well done for Teofimo and if he becomes a boxing superstar after this he earned it and I'll definitely watch his next fight.
I believe Teofimo Lopez should be P4P #1 after this. It's true that Canelo and Crawford and Usyk have more substantial records, but none of them have a win as significant as this, and none of them took on a risk of this magnitude and pulled off a win in a fight where they were a clear underdog.
Dare to Be Great!!! Teofimo Lopez took the risk that other guys wouldn't take in fighting a P4P #1 (Gervonta Davis, Devin Haney, historically Mayweather, Canelo Calzaghe, De La Hoya all never fought a P4P #1 in his prime as a betting underdog). Teofimo took the massive risk and came out on top and now he should be rewarded. People who take risks and come out on top should be rewarded. Boxing in recent years has become a highly risk averse sport - Mayweather, Canelo, Calzaghe, Gervonta Davis all being great examples targetting their shots at guys, constantly avoiding guys in their primes on win streaks.
Canelo fought a mid-late 30's Golovkin at a time when Golovkin was looking vulnerable and noticeably fading, 100% cherry picking, and in my opinion Canelo still lost both fights. Mayweather avoided Miguel Cotto for years until he lost and started to look vulnerable, also purposely fought Mosley and De La Hoya out of their primes. Calzaghe was an excellent boxer but some of his biggest wins were targetted shots at out of prime Roy Jones Jr. and Bernard Hopkins.
Teofimo Lopez has done the exact opposite of those approaches, fighting a dangerous elite fighter at a time when he is at his best. Super risky move and Teo came out on top. Teo won so give him the credit that an upset of this magnitude deserves. I believe he is P4P #1.
There has been discussion on BoxingScene concerning a potential rematch. I believe a rematch would be a more one sided win for Lopez. From Loma's perspective I believe he needs to drop down in weight , and quite frankly I don't believe there is something "new" or "unseen" he brings to a rematch. Honestly, Loma looks to me like his heart may no longer be in the sport and if that's true he is best off retiring. If he continues fighting he needs to engage way earlier on in fights because his strategy VS Lopez was awful. There was no rematch clause in place and Lopez is in no way obligated to grant a rematch.