Teofimo Lopez

Teofimo Andrés Lopez Rivera, better known as Teofimo Lopez, was born on July 30, 1997, in Brooklyn, New York, to Honduran immigrants. His boxing journey began at the age of six under the guidance of his father, Teofimo Lopez Sr. As an amateur, López won the 2015 National Golden Gloves and represented Honduras at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Lopez turned professional in 2016 and quickly made his mark in the lightweight division. In 2019, he captured the IBF lightweight title with a spectacular second-round knockout of Richard Commey.

In October 2020, López faced Vasiliy Lomachenko, then the unified WBA (Super), WBO and The Ring lightweight champion. López won by unanimous decision to become the unified lightweight champion and establish himself as one of the division's leading fighters. His reign ended in November 2021 when he suffered a split-decision loss to George Kambosos Jr.

After rebounding with victories over Pedro Campa and Sandor Martin, Lopez moved to 140 pounds. In June 2023, he defeated undefeated WBO and The Ring junior welterweight champion Josh Taylor by unanimous decision, becoming a two-division world champion.

Lopez successfully defended his WBO and The Ring junior welterweight titles against Jamaine Ortiz, Steve Claggett and Arnold Barboza Jr. before making the biggest test of his reign against Shakur Stevenson on January 31, 2026, at Madison Square Garden.

Stevenson controlled the fight with his speed, movement and precise counterpunching. Lopez struggled to consistently close the distance as Stevenson dictated the pace for most of the 12 rounds. Stevenson won by unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring the fight 119-109, ending Lopez's reign as WBO and The Ring junior welterweight champion.

Teofimo Lopez is one of boxing’s most explosive and athletic counterpunchers. Fighting primarily out of the Philly shell defense, Lopez often looks to roll a punch off of his lead shoulder and counter with a loaded right hand. He often follows up with a left hook to finish off his opponent and will chase them down with a leaping left hook if they aren’t finished off and trying to escape. Even in the open stance match against southpaws, Lopez will still fight with his lead hand low. This allows him to conserve his energy for those big explosions but on the flip side leaves him open for jabs from his southpaw opponents. He deals with these jabs by utilizing an elbow guard to block them, or even roll them with his lead shoulder if from a far enough distance. Distance is a fighter’s first line of defense, and Lopez uses his athleticism to step back from punches so he can safely keep his lead hand low. His athleticism also allows him to slip punches with excellent head movement which in turn also allows him to explode with big counter punches.