Teofimo Lopez stopped Pedro Campa in the seventh round in Las Vegas in his first fight at super-lightweight; Josh Taylor and Jack Catterall now likely to be on his radar with a fight in the UK a possibility; "I'll take on all them boys and take their dreams away"
Sunday 14 August 2022 11:16, UK
Teofimo Lopez made a winning return to the ring as he stopped Pedro Campa in the seventh round at Resorts World Events Center in Las Vegas.
Lopez, 25, was making his debut as a super-lightweight in his first fight since suffering the only loss of his career when he was beaten by George Kambosos Jr last November, which saw the Australian snatch the WBA (Super), IBF and WBO lightweight belts he would later relinquish to Devin Haney in June.
Moments after putting Campa on the canvas at the start of the seventh, Lopez (17-1, 13 KOs) obliterated his outmatched opponent with a flurry of punches, prompting referee Tony Weeks to stop the fight at the 2:14 mark. Mexican Campa dropped to 34-2-1.
"I am grateful for this, I have returned," Lopez said. "I got to work a little bit more on some things, but overall it was good.
"It's been a while. There was a lot on my mind. I nearly almost died [in] the last fight, so that was weighing on my mind, I had to clear it out.
"Going in there, I'm not afraid to die, but the last thing I want to do is not have my son have a father."
American Lopez, nicknamed 'The Takeover', spoke about the possibility of taking on either Josh Taylor or Jack Catterall in the UK before the fight, while his move up to 140lbs has coincided with that of Ryan Garcia.
I'll take on all them boys and take their dreams away. I'm here to be their nightmare. I'm ready to eat all these boys. They are all man-made, Teofimo is self-made. They can never make another one.
He said: "I don't care who it is. It could be Ryan Garcia, Taylor, Catterall, I don't care, I want to be at the O2 Arena. I know I have so much love over there and I just need to be over there and embrace that environment and enjoy the energy because you guys are diehard boxing fans."
Regis Prograis and Jose Zepeda are set to fight for the vacant WBC super-lightweight belt and Lopez confirmed he also has them on his radar after the fight, as he looks to become a two-time undisputed champion.
"We've been at 135 for like nine years - it was killing my body since I was a teenage kid," he said. "I've just turned 25 and we want Josh Taylor, we want these guys, we want Prograis, we want Zepeda, we want all the belts, that's what we really want. We want to become a two-time undisputed world champion.
"I'll take on all them boys and take their dreams away. I'm here to be their nightmare. I'm ready to eat all these boys. They are all man-made, Teofimo is self-made. They can never make another one."
