Teofimo Lopez is now one of boxing’s biggest stars following his unanimous decision victory over Vasiliy Lomachenko in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

Rapid reaction to Teofimo Lopez’s unanimous decision victory over Vasiliy Lomachenko in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

A star is born

Lopez is 23, with one significant win on his resume, a knockout of Richard Commey in his last fight, a win that garnered him his first world title. But he didn’t hesitate when offered a chance to fight Lomachenko, and when the COVID-19 pandemic pushed boxing behind closed doors—eliminating valuable live gate revenue—Lopez went ahead with the fight anyway. And he submitted a star turning performance. Against arguably the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world, Lopez was brilliant. He controlled the pace against a startlingly inactive Lomachenko early (more on that below) and in the final round, with Lomachenko starting to come on, Lopez beat back