The Teofimo Lopez, Jr. vs. Vasiliy Lomachenko fight drew more viewers than any other boxing event on any platform since 2019, according to Nielsen Media Research. That means nearly 3 million people watched someone “downloading information” for roughly half a lightweight unification bout.
Commentating absurdity aside, Lopez sure rose to the occasion in defeating Lomachenko by unanimous decision. Many fans and viewers need time adjusting to the whole bubble business and occasional canned crowd noise, but the fight gave us shifts in momentum and a decisive ending, in addition to crowing a true lightweight champion.
As usual, the post-fight sentiment and buzz couldn’t be confined to just the action itself. Extracurricular stuff is afoot at the Circle-K — the Circle-K being boxing. For instance, that wide scorecard, Lomachenko’s protest of the decision and now his reported shoulder injury have all eclipsed most conversation about Lopez himself and his win.
Lomachenko looked different than he usually does and there’s a tendency to need a quick, convenient, social media-ready reason as to why. That can lead us to forgetting it was Lopez who seized the fight and claimed it for himself, even if other things may have factored in.
How should the fight have been scored? Should Lopez be switching weight classes already? What are all the Tron, Crouching Tiger, Large Hadron Collider, newfangled training techniques worth if you sport a 14-2 record in an era where losses destroy galaxies?
On this episode of Knuckles and Gloves Boxing Radio, Patrick Connor and Brin-Jonathan Butler answer those questions, plus some more.
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