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A Star is Born at The Garden as Teofimo Lopez Wins IBF Title

Mikey Williams/Top Rank

Well, damn! 

Teofimo Lopez (15-0, 12 KOs) made a huge statement on Saturday, December 14, 2019 in stopping IBF Lightweight champion, Richard Commey (29-3, 26 KOs).

The two shared the ring with one another at the famed Mecca of Boxing, Madison Square Garden in New York City. This fight was not only highly anticipated, but it was also supposed to be a highly-competitive matchup as well.

The former may have been true, but the latter was far from it. 

Coming into the contest, Lopez was a slight favorite, but many wondered just how he would fair against an elite-level fighter. Make no mistake about it, that is exactly what Commey was considered. Elite. 

The contest began with Commey touching Lopez with a few jabs to the head. He did his best to get out of range, but the long arms of Commey continued to find their mark. As the round came to a finish it was easy to score the round for Commey. 

It was early, but it seemed like Lopez was in for a long night. Boy oh boy were we wrong. 

Seemingly out of nowhere, Lopez landed a punch that effectively ended the night. As soon as it connected, Commey went crashing down.

He fell again as he made his way back to his feet. After stumbling around for several seconds, Commey regained his consciousness and the fight continued, but not for long. 

Lopez unleashed some of the most barbaric combinations of the night, which forced the referee to step in and call the contest over.

With the victory, Lopez took home Commey’s IBF Lightweight title and will now look to begin his own title reign. 

Final Grade: A+

Teofimo Lopez was perfect tonight. Literally. It may not seem like it not, but Commey is by no means a bad fighter, Lopez just made him look that way.

No longer should anyone question whether or not he has what it takes to be a star, he does. His next contest is supposedly against pound-for-pound king Vasiliy Lomachenko.

With the sort of performance that Lopez put on tonight, you have to think he has a very good chance in that matchup.

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