It won’t be where we thought it would end up, but they got the when right. Teofimo Lopez is officially set to make his 140 lb. debut against Pedro Campa on August 13th at Resorts World Las Vegas.
The fact that Top Rank didn’t even bother to put Campa’s (34-1-1, 23 KO) face on the poster should give you a good idea of his chances. He can punch a bit, but his most noteworthy trait is his bizarre ability to get booked for big fights that fall apart before he steps foot in the ring. Just last year, NSAC declined to let him fight Jose Zepeda on the basis that it was too big a mismatch.
But as I said, he’s not there to really challenge Lopez (16-1, 12 KO), just to give us an idea of where his head’s at after the Kambosos debacle and how his power holds up at a higher weight class.
“I’m thankful to be back August 13. I’ve been looking forward to this since my last fight,” Lopez said. “I’ve had a lot of complications, but we’re looking towards the future and are on to bigger and better things. I’m here to take over the 140-pound division just like I did at 135. Like always, I’m going to bring excitement to the sport of boxing. The Takeover is still in full effect. You don’t want to miss it.”
“I am excited and thankful to Top Rank and Teofimo Lopez for this opportunity. He is a tremendous fighter,” Campa said. “I am coming to Resorts World Las Vegas ready to implement everything I have learned with my incredible trainer, Manny Robles. We’ve been in Southern California working hard and preparing for the best version of Teofimo Lopez. I believe I can be a force at 140 pounds, and it’s up to me to show that on August 13.”
Joining it on the ESPN main card is a clash between 19-year-old super welterweight blue-chipper Xander Zayas (13-0, 9 KO) and Mexico’s Elias Espadas (22-4, 15 KO). Espadas gave Yamaguchi Falcao a decent fight in 2018 and spent most of three rounds in the ring with D’Mitrius Ballard before a clash of head ended things, so he’s a solid opponent.
Zayas said, “I can’t wait to get back in the ring after what happened in June. That is all in the past, and I am 100 percent recovered. I want to thank all the fans for the support. That meant a lot and motivated me even more to train harder. On August 13, there will be a lot of fireworks between Puerto Rico and Mexico. You can count on that!”
The undercard includes Andres Cortez (17-0, 10 KO) taking on Abraham Montoya (20-3-1, 14 KO), the latter of whom was last seen fighting Gabriel Flores Jr. to a majority decision loss. Top Rank’s usual suspects, including Duke Ragan (6-0, 1 KO), Troy Isley (6-0, 4 KO), Charlie Sheehy (3-0, 3 KO), and Omar Rosario (7-0, 2 KO) round it out alongside entertaining slugger Jose Enrique Vivas (21-2, 11 KO)