Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. Teófimo López
López outpointed Lomachenko to unify lightweight titles.
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On October 17, 2020, at the MGM Grand Conference Center in Paradise, Nevada, Teófimo López defeated Vasiliy Lomachenko by unanimous decision to unify the lightweight titles. The bout, called Winner Takes All, saw López claim the WBA (Super), WBO, WBC (Franchise), and The Ring championships from Lomachenko, with scores of 119–109, 117–111, and 116–112.
Background
López captured the IBF lightweight title with a second-round technical knockout of Richard Commey on December 14, 2019. That same month, Lomachenko announced an agreement to face the new champion in a unification bout in April, though a date had not yet been set. López accused Lomachenko’s team of making negotiations difficult, while manager Egis Klimas said only the venue remained to be found.
Arum offered each fighter an interim bout in July, which both rejected, and a September date was considered. López’s manager, David McWater, argued Lomachenko deserved more money but not three times as much. Arum stated that Lomachenko agreed to reduce his own purse, and López’s reported pay rose to closer to $2 million.
The fight
López took the win by unanimous decision, with scores of 116–112, 119–109, and 117–111. The 119–109 card from judge Julie Lederman, which awarded Lomachenko just one round, sparked heavy debate. López controlled the early portion with his jab and body punches, limiting Lomachenko’s output through seven rounds.
Lomachenko grew more aggressive in the later rounds, landing at a higher rate. CompuBox recorded López landing 183 of 659 punches (28%) and out-landing Lomachenko in eight rounds, while Lomachenko connected on 141 of 321 (44%). In the final round, López landed 50 of 98 punches (51%), the highest single-round total ever against Lomachenko.
Aftermath
López received praise from boxing peers. Lomachenko said he felt he won but accepted the result, stating he disagreed with the scorecards.
Days after the fight, Lomachenko underwent surgery on his right shoulder. López declined to grant a rematch, citing difficult behavior from Lomachenko’s camp and the absence of a rematch clause in the contract. The fight drew about 4.2 million viewers in the United States, including an average of 2,729,000 on television and nearly 1.5 million on the ESPN app and ESPN+.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. Teófimo López (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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