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Steve KimESPN
Richard Commey will defend his IBF lightweight title against the highly touted Teofimo Lopez on Dec. 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York, the two sides announced Wednesday.
Todd duBoef, the president of Top Rank, which promotes Lopez, and Lou DiBella, who promotes Commey, confirmed the fight was finalized. It will be broadcast on ESPN.
“It’s a fascinating fight,” duBoef said. “A hot prospect in Teofimo going up against a real tough veteran in Richard Commey.”
To prepare for Commey (29-2, 26 KOs), Lopez (14-0, 11 KOs), a Brooklyn native who usually trains in Las Vegas, has decided to have his training camp in a “secluded” area in Flemington, New Jersey, his manager, David McWater, said.
“We’re not going to have people there bothering us,” McWater said. “He doesn’t like to train in the famous gyms where there’s a thousand people. He wants his sparring partners there, and we’re bringing in outside sparring so there’s no reason to go somewhere just for sparring.'”
Lopez’s father said he will be working with his son for two weeks in Brooklyn starting Tuesday, before heading out to New Jersey for camp.
“We’re going to come in ready, and it’s going to be a great fight,” the elder Lopez said. “I’m just so happy right now. Everything is lining up perfectly for my son.”
Lopez has grand plans if he gets past Commey, including hopes of facing Vasiliy Lomachenko, who currently holds the WBC, WBA and WBO lightweight belts, in the first quarter of 2020.
The elder Lopez is confident his son will topple Lomachenko, then move up in weight.
“We’ll go straight to the 140 division where [Regis] Prograis, Josh Taylor or [Jose] Ramirez will be the [undisputed] champion by then, so we’ll be undisputed in two weight classes in three fights,” he said.
But first things first, of course — Commey will be Lopez’s toughest professional test to date.
Said duBoef: “Everyone’s going to be on pins and needles trying to see who’s going to win this one. It’s a 50-50 fight.”