Teofimo Lopez puts Richard Commey away in second round
NEW YORK CITY – Crown him.
In a rousing, statement-making performance, Teofimo Lopez drubbed Richard Commey inside two rounds to become the newest IBF lightweight titleholder on the Terence Crawford-Egidijus Kavaliauskas card Saturday at Madison Square Garden.
In the second and final round, the fighters traded vicious overhand rights but Lopez’s landed, causing Commey to take a knee and stumble over. He was able to get up but never regained his senses completely. Lopez proceeded to batter the Ghanian fighter on the ropes, prompting referee David Fields to stop the fight at 1:13.
“God, thank you,” Lopez (15-0, 12 knockouts) said afterward. “Thank you so much, man. I’m at a loss of words. But like the great ‘KG’ said, anything is possible. Anything is possible!”
In the toughest assignment of his career, Lopez displayed fast-twitch reflexes, power and poise that belies his 22 years. To be sure, he didn’t appear bothered by the familial issues that dogged him in his last bout against Masayoshi Nakatani earlier in the year.
Commey (29-3, 26 KOs), making the second defense of his title, acquitted himself well in the opening round, landing a hard right that got Lopez’s attention and mixing in a few jabs. But that would be the extent of his success.
Richard Commey first took a knee and then tumbled over when Teofimo Lopez landed his fight-changing right hand. Mikey Williams / Top Rank
“That’s a bad guy (Commey), man,” Lopez said. “Any shot could have done the same thing. I think that’s why everybody was looking to the fight. It was going to be an explosive night.
“It’s a blessing, man. Dreams come true, man. You just gotta have faith in it.”
The win sets up a title-unification fight with Vasiliy Lomachenko, who holds two belts. Lomachenko, who was sitting ringside, confirmed that he wants to fight Lopez.
In other preliminary fights, Josue Vargas outlasted Noel Murphy in a hard-fought 10-round junior welterweight bout. All three judges scored it 98-92 for the Bronx-based Vargas.
After a few early close rounds, Vargas (16-1, 9 KOs) began to pull away by repeatedly landing hard right hooks and straight lefts. Murphy (14-2-1, 2 KOs) had occasional success countering Vargas as he barreled his way inside but he had few answers otherwise for Vargas’ overall aggression.
“What a blessing to fight in front of my home fans and put on a show for them,” said Vargas, who picked up an interim title. “The belt means the world to me. I know this isn’t a world title, but I am on my way. To be 21 years old and to fight at The Garden is truly special.”
Edgar Berlanga will need another occasion to go past the opening round for the first time in his career. The hard-hitting prospect knocked down Cesar Nunez (16-2-1, 8 KOs) three times in the first round before the referee waved off the bout at 2:45.
Berlanga has stopped all 13 of his opponents in the first round. According to the young fighter, he wanted to continue the streak in honor of his late cousin who was murdered during training camp.
“Next fight I want to go more rounds, but I wanted the first-round knockout for my cousin,” Berlanga said. “I want to be the one to carry the Puerto Rican flag and represent the island in New York.”
Julian Rodriguez is figuring out what happens when his opponents don’t keel over from one punch. The hard-hitting Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey native went the distance against an unusually durable Manuel Mendez in an eight-round junior welterweight bout.
Two judges scored it 80-71 and one had it 79-72, all for the undefeated Rodriguez.
Rodriguez (19-0, 12 KOs) started off hot, dropping Mendez with a hard left hook early in Round 1. Rodriguez followed up with a fusillade of punches, including another whiplashing left hook.
But instead of wilting, Mendez (16-7-3, 11 KOs) put his head down and continued to come forward, absorbing shot after shot. By Round 3, Rodriguez appeared to be tiring, even though Mendez was landing nothing much of consequence. By the mid rounds, it was Mendez who was stalking Rodriguez. In the final round, Rodriguez was able to pull away, landing multiple combinations.
And undefeated Australian George Kambosos Jr. edged Cleveland’s Mickey Bey by a split decision in a closely contested 10-round lightweight bout. Two judges had it 97-92 and 96-93 in favor of the Aussie. One gave it to Bey, 97-94.
Kambosos (18-0, 10 KOs) was a tad quicker during the exchanges, which proved to be critical. After nine back-and-forth rounds, Kambosos turned it up in Round 10, knocking down Bey (23-3-1, 11 KOs) with a hard counter right uppercut. Kambosos followed up with a slew of punches, including a hard left as Bey survived on the ropes.