Teofimo Lopez looking forward to fighting Sandor Martin in hometown
Teofimo Lopez is returning to the scene of his worst night as a professional boxer. Well, the building anyway.
The former lightweight champion lost his titles to heavy underdog George Kambosos Jr. by a split decision in November of last year at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York, a setback the changed the perception of Lopez overnight.
He returns to the Garden to fight Sandor Martin on Saturday (ESPN+), one fight after stopping Pedro Campa in Las Vegas in his debut as a 140-pounder. It will be his first time headlining at MSG’s “big room.”
Lopez (17-1, 13 KOs) is focusing on the fact that he grew up in nearby Brooklyn and has also had success at the venue. He last fought there in 2019, when he stopped Richard Commey in two rounds to win his first title on the undercard of Terence Crawford vs. Egidijus Kavaliauskas.
Ten months later he outpointed pound-for-pound king Vasiliy Lomachenko to become undisputed champion.
“This means everything to me,” Lopez said about fighting in the main arena. “I won my first world title at Madison Square Garden. Who can say that? It’s always been a dream of mine since I was a kid. I always heard from Frank Sinatra himself, ‘If you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere.’
“And what better place than the Mecca of Boxing, Madison Square Garden. To me, I believe that’s where legends are born.”
Martin (40-2, 13 KOs) is no pushover. The 29-year-old Spaniard is a skillful southpaw who made a splash by upsetting American star Mikey Garcia by a majority decision in October of last year, his first fight outside of Europe. He followed that by nearly shutting out Jose Felix this past April in Barcelona, Martin’s hometown.
He took the fight against Lopez on two weeks notice when Jose Pedraza pulled out because of illness.f
Could Martin deliver two major upsets in a span of three fights? Lopez says no.
“I’m a showstopper, I’m a performer,” he said. “And at the end of it, fighting at Madison Square Garden, you’re going to see that. … This is a moment of a lifetime. This is equivalent to my first world title. These are the things I’m really looking forward to.
“This is my home, my hometown, my home field, and we are really looking forward to putting on a show for everyone on December 10th.”