Lightweight Teofimo Lopez, the 2018 ESPN Prospect of the Year, and junior welterweight Maxim Dadashev, also one of boxing’s top rising talents, will have the chance to earn world title opportunities by winning their next fight.
Lopez will fight Masayoshi Nakatani in a 135-pound world title elimination bout in the main event of a Top Rank Boxing on ESPN+ card on July 19 at the MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland, Top Rank announced on Tuesday.
Dadashev will face Subriel Matias in a 140-pound title eliminator in the co-feature of the card (ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET, with preliminary bouts streaming on ESPN+ beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET).
The Lopez-Nakatani winner will become the mandatory challenger for the winner of the fight between lightweight world titlist Richard Commey (28-2, 25 KOs) and former titlist Ray Beltran (36-8-1, 22 KOs). They are scheduled to meet on July 28 in the main event of a Top Rank Boxing on ESPN card in Temecula, California.
“I’m excited to come back, especially for my first headlining bout, one of many to come,” Lopez said. “After Nakatani you will see me face the winner of Richard Commey and Ray Beltran. If you think you’ve seen it all, you haven’t. My goal is to be a worldwide star, and Nakatani is not going to stop me.
“Expect another badass knockout, and rest assured, I have something special planned for the celebration. For this fight, we’re doing a nine-week training camp, and I am going to be in the best shape of my career. ‘The Takeover’ is coming July 19 to MGM National Harbor.”
Lopez (13-0, 11 KOs), 21, of Las Vegas, is coming off a crushing fifth-round knockout victory against Edis Tatli on April 20 on the Terence Crawford-Amir Khan card and has designs on taking the belts from the Commey-Beltran winner and then facing pound-for-pound king and unified lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko for the undisputed world title.
Nakatani (18-0, 12 KOs), 29, of Japan, will be fighting outside of his home country for the first time.
“This fight is just a stop on the way to becoming world champion,” Nakatani said. “I hope all boxing fans in Japan and around the world will enjoy what I bring to the table.”
Dadashev will square off with Matias (13-0, 13 KOs), 27, of Puerto Rico, for the right to become the mandatory challenger for the world title held by Josh Taylor, who is first scheduled to meet Regis Prograis in a title unification fight this fall in the final of the World Boxing Super Series junior welterweight tournament.
Dadashev (13-0, 11 KOs), 28, a Russia native fighting out of Oxnard, California, owns wins over former world titleholders Antonio DeMarco and Darleys Perez in two of his last three fights.
“It doesn’t matter who I fight or where I fight. I am looking forward to the opportunity in front of me,” Dadashev said. “Matias is a dangerous fighter, but I am ready for whatever he brings. I have fought every kind of style as an amateur and a professional, and all of my experiences have led me to this fight.”
In the most notable preliminary fight, Erick De Leon (19-0-1, 11 KOs), 27, of Detroit, and former world titlist Jason Sosa (22-3-4, 15 KOs), 31, of Camden, New Jersey, will meet in a 10-round junior lightweight bout.