Teofimo Lopez had only one fight for the year but the fight escalated him into the top 10 pound-for-pound list of boxers. He had one of the biggest upsets in a title fight by beating the former #1 pound for pound boxer in the world, Vasyl Lomachenko.
Lopez is only 23 years old and has now captured all the major belts in the lightweight division. There was a backstage back and forth with Eddie Hearn and Lopez that said that he is not the WBC Champion but the Franchise champion instead which does not make him the Undisputed Champion.
What made this astonishing is that back when Lopez was still green and not the IBF Champion, he already called out Lomachenko for the fight and knows that he can beat him. He was a heavy underdog coming in and most young undefeated boxers were not willing to face the challenge of fighting Lomachenko.
Teofimo Lopez meanwhile set the path for the young prospects to take risks. What made him great is that he is the only of the rising stars that are the current king of the division of a super talent stacked division.
With the win against Lomachenko, Lopez becomes the WBC Franchise, WBA (Super), WBO, IBF, and the Ring Magazine Champion, basically the undisputed champion. Even if one would say Devin Haney is the WBC Champion, Lopez still beat the man who was the WBC Champion.
Another top fighter that won the Fighter of the Year is Tyson Fury. The only undefeated heavyweight champion also has one fight for the year 2020. It happened on 22 February where he fought Deontay Wilder for the rematch. The WBC belt and The Ring heavyweight were up for grabs.
Many thought that Fury won’t be able to knock Wilder out due to his fighting style. Wilder even called him pillow-fisted due to his lack of power. On the build-up of the fight, Fury changed his coach to Kronk Gym with SugarHill Steward. Fury thought that in the first match, there were some weaknesses of Wilder that he could exploit.
Wilder cannot fight at his best when he is on the back-pedal. Right off the bell, Fury put on the pressure and moved forward which shook Wilder. In the third, Fury scored a knockdown by an overhand right.
Fury’s win may be cemented as one of the greatest comebacks in boxing history. After his win against Wladimir Klitschko, he suffered depression and became overweight. He was even thinking of killing himself but was saved by his faith.
Tyson Fury and Teofimo Lopez also respect each other. Both boxers rooted each other in their upcoming fight. In Lopez’s camp, when asked regarding the fight against Wilder, Lopez said that Fury is the better boxer and will win the fight for sure.
Tyson Fury also described Lopez as too big for his division. He thinks that Lopez is too skilled and cannot think of anyone beating him in the division.
