NBA Players Loved Teofimo Lopez And Vasiliy Lomachenko’s Lightweight Championship Bout

A stacked sports slate on Saturday ended with boxing’s lightweight division crowned its new king. While Ukrainian ace Vasiliy Lomachenko entered his bout as the favorite to unify all of the titles in the division, Brooklyn’s own Teofimo Lopez was able to stun the boxing world, coming out like a house of fire and surviving a late onslaught from Lomachenko to become the sport’s undisputed lightweight champion by unanimous decision.

The fight itself was terrific — once Lomachenko, who started rather slowly, began throwing everything at Lopez, the bout lived up to its billing as one for an undisputed title. Not every fight features two guys trying to be on the front foot, but fortunately for those who turned in, Lomachenko and Lopez had zero interest in making this one boring.

Among those who tuned in were a bevy of NBA players, all of whom were enamored by the performances put on by the pair.

Even before the decision came in, those who checked out the bout seemed to think that things went in Lopez’s direction.

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There was, however, an exception: Bradley Beal seemed to think this would be called a draw.

Beal did have a bit of a gripe after it ended, as he thought one judge’s card which went 119-109 for Lopez was a touch too generous.

Another hooper, Kristaps Porzingis, was a bit harder to read, although he seems to think the judges might have gotten this one wrong altogether.

If Porzingis did indeed think Lomachenko won this one, well, he’s a bit of an outlier. Lopez was magnificent, and with the win, he boosted his career record to 16-0. Oh, and now he gets to say he’s the best of the best in his division, which featured a guy who had a claim for being the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world.