Last couple of days Teofimo Lopez Jr. is promoting a comeback fight against Pedro Campa at 140. Few would have believed that one when the New Yorker completed his self-described “Takeover” by defeating Vasiliy Lomachenko on October 17, 2020.
That night in Las Vegas, in the heat of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lopez lived up to all the hype.
There were four young stars about to put on fights among each other that we hadn’t seen since Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, Roberto Duran and Thomas Hearns battled among themselves, becoming royalty in the process.
These new “Four Kings” were led by Lopez, who was expected to wage war in the next few years with Gervonta Davis, Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia. The Takeover, indeed.
But as the Summer of 2022 winds down, all the high hopes were dashed. Lopez lost to George Kambosos, Kambosos lost to Haney, Davis and Garcia keep winning against everyone but each other.
“My best years are in front of me,” Lopez said. “Pedro Campa is the start of a new chapter in my career. I will be a two-weight world champion very soon. Every contender and champion at junior welterweight better watch out because I am coming to clean out the division.”
