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Teofimo Lopez, the former unified lightweight champion, has a new opponent for his December 10th fight at Madison Square Garden. This comes after Top Rank Boxing announced Monday afternoon that Sandor Martin will face Lopez in a non-title fight.
Lopez-Martin is a final eliminator for the WBC world title and is set for ten rounds. Lopez (17-1, 13 KOs), a Brooklyn native, made his junior welterweight debut in August, stopping Pedro Campa in the seventh round. He aspires to be a two-weight world champion in 2023, but he must first overcome the slick Spanish southpaw, who is ranked No. 1 in the WBO. Martin (40-2, 13 KOs), from Barcelona, was the author of the 2021 Upset of the Year when he startled Mikey Garcia by majority decision and forced the four-weight world champion to retire. Martin, who is listed in the top 15 by all four major sanctioning bodies, followed up his Garcia victory with a 10-round unanimous decision victory over Jose Felix in April.
Lopez promised his fan that they will see the best of him once he steps back into the ring once more. ” Lopez said. “I will continue to silence the doubters as I take over the 140-pound division. I look forward to giving my hometown fans a special night of boxing.”
Martin said, “I’ve dreamed of fighting in a main event at Madison Square Garden. This is my time. I’ve taken the risk, and I will take control against Teofimo Lopez on December 10th. I will give the fans what they want to see.”
Martin (40-2, 13 KOs) steps in for Jose Pedraza, who pulled out of the 140-pound Top Rank on ESPN contest due to a non-COVID sickness.