New York – Diofimo Lopez was at the top of the world.
With his victory over Vasily Lomachenko in December 2020, Lopez was instantly recognized as one of the top 10 pound boxers in the world. With a great personality in addition to his success, Lopez was on the fast track to star status.
The first adjournment of his regular title defense against George Campos Jr. came as a result of Lopez’s Govt trial in June. The chaos continued, with eight date changes and several legal threats leading up to the fight until November, with a different advertiser and a different broadcast site. Lopez, originally from Brooklyn, was at his home ground at the Hulu Theater in Madison Square Garden and was a 7-for-1 racer.
But when they finally entered the ring on Saturday, Camposos confirmed that this fight was worth the wait. He defeated Lopez in the first round, escaped from the 10th round knockdown and scored one of the biggest ups and downs of 2021 – turning the talented and enthusiastic lightweight division upside down.
“I made him sit up,” the 28-year-old composer told ESPN. “From there, I just changed the fight completely, he was undecided … we boxed so brilliantly, you know what I showed? My boxing skills … I showed what a true champion is, I’ll come back and win and close it in the best way possible . “
Lopez (16-1, 12 KOs) already expects a big three fight in 2022 beyond the Campos. He hoped to start the year with a fight against undeniable 140-pound champion Josh Taylor, following which he clashed with Devin Honey and Kervonda Davis.
Of course, not all of those potential conflicts are safe. In the wake of the tragic defeat, Lopez’s future is more uncertain than ever.
Lopez, 24, said he had won 10 rounds and was overjoyed when he commented that weight gain had taken a lot from him.
“I do not care what others say … I won this fight,” said Lopez, who entered Saturday at No. 7 on ESPN’s pound-to-pound rankings. “At the end of the day, I’m here, I’m here. Look, I’m not a failure; I’m taking my failures for granted, at the end of the day, I’m a real champion. This is a change of command: we do not stop, we continue to fight. “
The way his face was stamped and the cuts on both eyes told a different story, and Lopez will definitely be out of the ring for a while. When he returns, Lopez will go on a tried and true comeback that involves a gentle fight (or two) in boxing before moving on to another big fight. That next title shot is sure to come in at 140 pounds, but that’s another thing when it happens.
What was considered an opportunity for Lopez to regain momentum after 13 months turned out to be catastrophic. He has proven to be tough outside the ring, but the biggest test of his career awaits him. How would you respond to your first professional loss and the downfall of your pedestal as an integrated world champion?
Campos, on the other hand, is in unspecified territory. No one gave him many chances to win, and he is said to have won the lottery after grabbing the best wallet of his career exceeding $ 1.5 million. Australians in the star-studded lightweight division will receive at least one major paycheck, and that may be higher. It seemed to be far from a fluke for Campos (20-0, 10 KOs), who put up 12 rounds brilliantly against an elite fighter.
The main chance is the winner of next week’s fight between Honey and Joseph Diaz Jr.. But big matches with Davis and Ryan Garcia may also be on the table.
“There are a lot of possible ways, obviously 130 pounds looking at it, 135 pounds looking sideways, 140 pounds looking at it,” Camposos advertiser Lou Tibella told ESPN. “He has the whole of Australia, where he’s now human. Now he’s Australia’s number one athlete. He’s going to have a lot of alternatives.”
Considering what he achieved in defeating Lopez and his status as a free agent, Campos has a lot of flexibility in matters such as who he can fight with, where it happens, and how he enjoys it, without any connection to any TV company. The worlds of Lopez.
“I think he will sit down, set aside some time and enjoy the success,” Dibella said. “Then we’m going to find the biggest fight we can.”
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