It was reported that Lopez fought with a tear in his esophagus as well as complications with his asthma. A doctor following the bout said that Lopez was lucky to be alive. The fact that he still went 12 rounds while dealing with such an intense medical situation is pretty amazing.
Teofimo Lopez (16-1, 12KOs) dealt with a tough 2021, but he is still immensely talented and has a bright future ahead of him. Defeating Vasiliy Lomachenko (16-2,11KOs) in 2020 for the undisputed lightweight title while only having 15 professional fights under his belt was no fluke.
Knocking out Richard Commey (30-4, 27KOs) in the 2nd round in 2019 was not a lucky instance. Lopez is still a pound-for-pound level fighter, and his recent setback will not derail his career.
On November 27, 2021, George Kambosos (20-0, 10KOs) of Australia shocked the boxing world by beating Lopez by split decision at the Madison Square Garden Theater. But nobody aside from Lopez’s inner circle knew about the extent of problems Lopez faced coming into the evening. The bout had been postponed twice, as Lopez was diagnosed with COVID-19 and the platform known as “Triller” was unable to put on the fight. Lopez also separated from his wife this year and underwent complications with his asthma.
After the weigh-in against Kambosos, Lopez struggled to breathe, but he refused to postpone the fight. He had about $20,000 left in his bank account, and he knew that he could not undergo another setback. He struggled to make weight and had to remove a nutritionist as well as co-trainer Joey Gamache due to financial difficulties.
The day before the Kambosos match, Lopez’s neck was swollen, and he didn’t seek medical attention. It was reported that Lopez fought with a tear in his esophagus as well as complications with his asthma. A doctor following the bout said that Lopez was lucky to be alive. The fact that he still went 12 rounds while dealing with such an intense medical situation is pretty amazing.
Kambosos deserves full credit for his tremendous upset win, but it’s difficult to comprehend how Lopez could fight competitively in a world-class fight with such a severe health problem.
Much of the boxing public believed Kambosos was deserving of the victory, but Lopez declared the fight to be a robbery directly afterward and emphasized that the fans knew that he should have won. After this message, fans in attendance booed Lopez, and the young star’s momentum following the biggest win of his career against Lomachenko came to a screeching halt. The defeat had the looks of a fight in which Lopez came in too confident and underestimated the game Kambosos.
Lopez looked for a knockout immediately following the opening bell and hurt Kambosos in the first round. Given what is known now, Lopez likely came out firing because his health was suffering, and he needed to end the fight early.
It looked like Lopez might finish the Australian fighter early in the fight, but out of nowhere, Lopez dropped his hands following a jab and was caught and floored with a counter overhand right. Lopez smiled after quickly getting up, trying to indicate that the first-round knockdown was comical and a result of a lucky punch. But Kambosos continued to follow up on that success and took Lopez into deep waters. They went back-and-forth until the final bell, with Kambosos getting the better of the exchanges most of the time.
Lopez knocked down Kambosos in the 10th with a right to the side of the head, and it appeared like Lopez might be able to stop Kambosos. But Kambosos stayed strong and recovered. Not only did he recover, but he outworked Lopez in both the 11th and 12th rounds. Two of the three judges scored the fight in favor of Kambosos, and the Aussie fighter undoubtedly scored the biggest upset of 2021.
Despite a shockingly awful 2021 for Lopez, he is far from through. He stayed at lightweight for too long, and he will be more comfortable at 140. Once his health is squared away, the fans will see the same fighter who knocked out Richard Commey and comfortably beat Vasiliy Lomachenko.
Lopez is one of the most talented fighters in the sport, as he possesses quality hand speed, defense, and power. He faced a perfect storm of adversity in 2021, and given everything he suffered, It’s a miracle that he fought competitively against Kambosos and almost won. Lopez is serious about boxing and will take this year as a learning lesson.
He now understands the extent of his health struggles and will keep his health and personal needs in check before his upcoming fights. Lopez should not be written off. He’s still the same special fighter that fans have been watching for a few years now.
