Teofimo Lopez may not be a college football star, but he may have something in common with C.J. Stroud and Bryce Young this winter. On December 10, ESPN will air the Heisman Trophy presentation in New York, New York. Immediately after this year’s trophy is presented to the nation’s top college football star, Top Rank will broadcast a boxing event live from the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden. While it is unclear who will be on hand for the Heisman Trophy presentation, it appears that Teofimo Lopez and Jose Pedraza will headline Top Rank’s boxing card in the Big Apple.
Teofimo “The Takeover” Lopez has a history of fighting on ESPN after the Heisman Trophy is presented. In 2018, he knocked out Mason Menard in the first round, did a backflip and then wore a Kyler Murray jersey during the post-fight interview. One year later, he knocked out Richard Commey to win his first world title and then put on a Joe Burrow jersey. However, things have taken a few turns since he fought Commey in December 2019. The New York native beat Vasiliy Lomachenko by unanimous decision to win the undisputed lightweight title before suffering the first defeat of his career against George Kambosos Jr. at the Hulu Theater. Since then, he’s bounced back and earned a seventh-round stoppage against Pedro Campa in Las Vegas.
Jose Pedraza has faced a bit of adversity as well. The Puerto Rican fighter suffered a tough, unanimous decision loss against Jose Ramirez in March. Then, he fought Richard Commey to a split draw in Tulsa last month. Now, he’ll have a chance to get his hands on a title shot if he can get past Lopez.
