Widely regarded as the top prospect of 2018, Teofimo Lopez (12-0, 10 KOs) added another chapter to his young, but impressive career. Lopez entered his bout against Diego Magdaleno (31-3, 13 KOs) with a lot of hype surrounding him.
Guided by his father, who also plays the role of trainer, Lopez looked to make a statement against a veteran in Magdaleno who wanted to put a halt to the Lopez hype.
Magdaleno was the seasoned vet coming into this bout and previous to this fight, he helped top names like Jorge Linares and Adrien Broner prepare for their bouts. The bout opened with Lopez controlling the pace early on but no real threatening exchanges until the last few seconds.
Lopez would land a quick combination that startled Magdaleno and snapped his head back. Lopez quickly followed up that round with some great shots to both the body and head of Magdaleno.
A stiff uppercut landed flush for Lopez and in turn, created a cut that likely broke the nose of Magdaleno in the second round. Lopez didn’t get greedy despite hurting the vet, instead electing to be patient in the ring and continued to pick calculated shots.
The 21-year-old Lopez continued his pace in the following rounds with Magdaleno having no answer for the faster, stronger, and more elusive man. Magdaleno tried to be effective but failed to land any notable shots on Lopez and never seemed to make any adjustments moving forward.
In the sixth, a clean left hook would floor Magdaleno to the canvas just seconds before the close of the round. Magdaleno rose to his feet before the close of the round and ate a few extra shots for good measure before being saved by the bell.
Lopez would close the show in style in the seventh. Another left hook dropped Magdaleno to the floor in stunning fashion and somehow he continued. Referee Greg Alvarez let the action continue but Lopez could smell blood and went in for the finish.
Vicious KO courtesy of @TeofimoLopez over Diego Magdaleno#LopezMagdaleno #AlvarezKovalev2 #Boxing pic.twitter.com/mGxwKVcnhc
The fight was stopped after Lopez continued to tee off on the face of Magdaleno, giving Lopez the TKO finish he promised.
“I feel like a champ,” said Lopez after his victory. “He wanted to trade shots with me but I wanted to sit back and pick my shots and that’s what I did.”
Lopez adds another victim to his body count and improves to (12-0, 10 KOs).
“It’s nothing personal. I just do what I’m supposed to do in there,” said Lopez. “I’m ready for a title shot this year. I’m telling you, 2019 is the takeover.”
