Both fighters made weight today in Las Vegas, and now Vasiliy Lomachenko and Teofimo Lopez are geared up and ready to go for tomorrow night’s ESPN main event from the Top Rank bubble at the MGM Grand.
The social distancing rules got broken a bit as the two got right up in each others faces after making weight, leading to an intense stare down. ESPN’s Bernardo Osuna asked Lopez (15-0, 12 KO) about that in a post-event interview.
How to Watch Lomachenko vs Lopez
Date: Saturday, Oct. 17 | Start Time: 10:00 pm ET (Main Card) / 7:30 pm ET (Prelims)
Location: MGM Top Rank Bubble, Las Vegas, NV
TV: ESPN (Main Card) | Stream: ESPN+ (Prelims)
“That’s how it should be. This is a fight. I’m in here to — I don’t like this COVID stuff, so this is what it is,” Lopez said. “He came out negative, I came out negative, so why not be close up? That’s how everybody wants it, man, it’s bad blood. I’m ready.”
(As far as “I don’t like this COVID stuff” goes, it should be said that Lopez has been a strong proponent of wearing masks and practicing safety with the pandemic. I can’t say for certain what he might mean here, but I also don’t think anyone likes “this COVID stuff.” I just figured it’s good to head off any wild tangents about that comment, which came in a heated moment, too.)
Asked how he plans to attack Lomachenko (14-1, 10 KO), Lopez broke it down pretty simply: he wants to use his superior natural size, but not in a reckless way.
“Lotta body shots, lotta head shots. There’s many things I can do,” Lopez said. “I’m gonna muscle him. I’m gonna whoop his ass. And I’m gonna play it smart at the same time, because I’m able to do that. I’m excited and I’m very grateful for this opportunity.”
Lomachenko, for whom English is not his native language, was as usual a man of few words. But the words he did give Mark Kriegel were pretty icy: he wants to beat Lopez up, and he doesn’t want to make it quick.
“I know what to do in the ring,” Lomachenko said. “I want to do 12 rounds. I don’t want to finish this fight very fast. I want to fight all 12 rounds.”
Bad Left Hook will have full live coverage tomorrow night, Oct. 17, for Lomachenko-Lopez, starting at 7:30 pm ET.