Teofimo Lopez triumphant in ring return

Teofimo Lopez Jr. returned to the ring Saturday night, at Resorts World, Las Vegas, in the main event on ESPN, for the first time since his first pro defeat nine months ago. 

Lopez, a former unified lightweight champ (17-1, 13 KOs) was making his 140-pound debut against Mexico’s Pedro Campa (34-2-1, 23 KOs) after losing his 135-pound titles to Aussie George Kambosos. 

Lopez, 25, revealed after the Kambosos loss that he had suffered a life-threatening esophageal tear before the fight and that several doctors said he was lucky he survived the bout. 

Before the Saturday nights fight - Lopez made it clear that he is healthy, focused and determined to show that he will, just as he once did at 135 pounds, be the boss at 140

“This isn’t my first rodeo," Lopez said during last Thursday’s press conference. "I’m 21 years in the game, blood, sweat, and tears. I’m a five-time world champion, and we are just here to go and dominate and do what we always do, which is to entertain." 

For Lopez, there are some great fights for him at 140-pounds, from names like Josh Taylor and Jack Catterall to Jose Ramirez, Jose Zepeda, and Regis Prograis. There is even talk of a fight against Golden Boy star Ryan Garcia. But Lopez knew he had to get by Campa, preferably in impressive fashion, in taking the steps that lead to the marquee fights.

For the 30-year-old Campa, it was the opportunity of a lifetime to spread his name beyond his native Mexico - but he was in tough. However, that didn’t dampen his confidence going into the fight. He made it clear at pre-fight press conferences he was here to win. 

"I really don’t care what people think. I know what I’m facing here," Campa said. "Lopez is a great fighter and one of the best, so I am prepared and just concentrating. I think I’m going to win. " 

However, on this night, Lopez was faster, stronger, and more accurate to the head and body than the aggressive, determined Campa. In an impressive performance, Lopez dropped and stopped Campa in the 7th round in front of a sold-out crowd of 3553 fans, including Oscar De La Hoya who sat at ringside. 

Campa took a pounding most of the night but did show a lot of grit and guile to survive and compete as long as he did. 

After the fight, it was clear Lopez was looking for the big names at 140. 

“I was 135 for 9 years and it was killing my body”, said Lopez. “We want Josh Taylor, we want Regis Prograis, we want Jose Zepeda. We want all the belts, we want to become a two-time undisputed champion”. 

It appears Lopez is indeed back and is looking for a world title. We shall see, whom Top Rank, who is talking about a November return, puts in front of him in his next bout. 

Can Lopez take over at 140? 

Tonight was a good start.