After the fight: Is Teofimo Lopez a top-5 super lightweight?

Teofimo Lopez dominated Pedro Campa in his super lightweight debut, but was it enough to anoint him as a top-5 super lightweight?

Former undisputed lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez moved up a division and had his way with unheralded Pedro Campa. It was a strong performance for Lopez, but how much credit does he deserve after beating an opponent like Campa?

Campa (34-2-1, 23 KOs) isn’t a name that will wow on Lopez’s résumé, but he’s a veteran with above-average punching power. Yes, Lopez was expected to wipe the floor with Campa, which he did, but he looked superb doing it.

Lopez (17-1, 13 KOs) has questions surrounding him due to his 2021 split decision loss to George Kambosos Jr. Before that, he beat Vasiliy Lomachenko, who most deem a legend, but Lopez’s inconsistent performances have people questioning his greatness.

They shouldn’t.

Lopez is an elite boxing talent. One loss against a gifted boxer shouldn’t hurt Lopez’s reputation too heavily. His contest with Kambosos was competitive, and he nearly captured the win after knocking Kmabosos down in round 10.

Throw in Lopez’s unknown health issues going into that fight, along with problems in his personal life, and it’s easy to see that he wasn’t at his best. Go deeper into Lopez’s boxing history, and you will see he’s a proven quantity.

With his win over Pedro Campa and an established résumé, Teofimo Lopez is already one of the top super lightweights one fight in

The Lomacheko win is the brightest spot on Lopez’s record, but his two-round destruction of Richard Commey deserves more praise than it receives. The same could be said of Lopez’s decision over Masayoshi Nakatani.

Lopez is 25 years old, and he has bested some incredible opposition. Campa’s name ranks nowhere near them, but what Lopez did in the ring against him shows growth.

In his loss to Kambosos, Lopez landed 31 percent of his punches while getting hit by 24.6 percent of Kambosos’, according to CompuBox. Lopez tried to run over Kambosos, which was problematic. He wasn’t patient and tried to fight at close range against an inside fighter.

Against Campa, Lopez chose his shots and looked for openings. Even though he was levels above Campa, he didn’t rush his work. He established the jab early, fought on the outside, and then broke Campa down as the rounds went by.

Lopez landed 42.4 percent of his punches against Campa, who only connected at 18.5 percent. It was a disciplined fight strategy for Lopez, who was more defensive-minded. Lopez looked better as the counterpuncher than the aggressor.

Lopez deserves added respect as the new super lightweight on the block because of his former champion status and previous accomplishments.

Looking at the entire division, as long as Josh Taylor is in the division, Taylor deserves to be number one despite his poor performance against Jack Catterall.

After Taylor, there’s a competitive field, but Lopez could easily be the second-best boxer in the division. Jose Ramirez is also up there, but I would place him behind Lopez. I believe Lopez’s speed would allow him to out-point Ramirez.

Rounding out the next two spots would be Regis Prograis and Jose Zepeda, who should fight in the future for the WBC belt that Taylor relinquished. That’s an excellent top five, but it’s completely subjective.

Ryan Garcia is now campaigning at super lightweight, Arnold Barboza Jr. is undefeated, and Gary Antuanne Russell just destroyed Rances Barthelemy. Don’t forget about Jack Catterall, who took Josh Taylor to the brink.

Taylor could be leaving the division after a rematch with Catterall, which would mean the division is wide open. There’s no clear favorite, and Lopez could beat any of the fighters mentioned.

Then again, they might be able to take him too. The super lightweight is looking for a frontrunner. Lopez looks like he could make a nice run there, but it will be interesting to see who separates themself from the pack.