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Mike CoppingerESPN
Teofimo Lopez is on the comeback trail.
The former lightweight champion and Mexico’s Pedro Campa have agreed to a deal for a 140-pound bout on Aug. 13, sources told ESPN on Thursday.
The Top Rank Boxing on ESPN main event will mark Lopez’s junior welterweight debut and will likely take place in South Florida, sources said.
Lopez (16-1, 12 KOs) will be fighting for the first time since his November split-decision loss to George Kambosos Jr. in ESPN’s Upset of the Year. The 24-year-old was floored in Round 1 but rallied to score a knockdown in Round 10 before ultimately losing on the scorecards.
After his victory over Vasiliy Lomachenko in October 2020 to capture all four lightweight titles, Lopez cracked ESPN’s pound-for-pound list, but after the surprising setback, he finds himself looking to establish himself in a new division.
Lopez has dealt with a litany of health issues in the meantime. The Las Vegas resident underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left elbow in February and arthroscopic surgery on his right hand in March.
Most troublesome of all, Lopez was hospitalized after the November loss with “extensive air in the retropharyngeal space,” which was likely caused by a slight tear in his esophagus, ESPN’s Mark Kriegel reported.
“He could have died, for sure,” Dr. Linda Dahl, an otolaryngologist (ENT) who reviewed Lopez’s medical records in November, told Kriegel. “How he breathed, I can’t even explain to you. It’s like somebody tied a 300-pound set of weights around his chest … like his neck and chest were in a vise.”
After a long rest, Lopez recently began training for his comeback bout, one he’s unlikely to face much trouble in. Campa (33-1-1, 22 KOs) has never competed outside Mexico and has never faced any competition remotely close to Lopez’s level.
The 30-year-old was held to a draw against journeyman Abner Lopez (no relation) in 2019.