Beg to differ amigo. Based on video of their most recent fights I'll take Lopez's demolitions of Tatli, Magdaleno & Menard over Makatani's less-convincing stoppages of 25-7 Hurricane Fuda & 5-0-1 Izuki Tomioka.
These videos only confirmed my prediction of Lopez over Nakatani in 4-5 rounds. Time will tell...may the best fighter win!!
Best Coast wrote: ↑05 Jul 2019, 00:58
Beg to differ amigo. Based on video of their most recent fights I'll take Lopez's demolitions of Tatli, Magdaleno & Menard over Makatani's less-convincing stoppages of 25-7 Hurricane Fuda & 5-0-1 Izuki Tomioka.
These videos only confirmed my prediction of Lopez over Nakatani in 4-5 rounds. Time will tell...may the best fighter win!!
It's easy to dredge up some numbers to support your opinion/prediction. I'd rather just say I think Lopez wins without too much trouble because he hits harder, has faster hand speed and superior boxing skills. The videos above show that Nakatani's long, lean frame make him vulnerable to body shots. I see Teo banging Nakatani to the body to soften him up and stopping him around 4th or 5th round.
If you really think Nakatani will win feel free to tell us why and how, instead of just relying on some computer-based number-crunching.
The fighting pride of Brazil, middleweight contender Esquiva “La Pantera” Falcao, has a world title shot on his mind. The next step for the 2012 Olympic silver medalist is Jesus Antonio Gutierrez in a 10-round showdown Friday, July 19 at MGM National Harbor.
Falcao-Gutierrez will be the featured bout on the undercard stream live on ESPN+ beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT. In eight-round undercard action, middleweight prospect Tyler “Hercules” Howard (17-0, 11 KOs) will take on Philadelphia native Jamaal Davis (18-14-1, 7 KOs), and super featherweight Tyler McCreary (15-0-1, 7 KOs) will look to rebound from a March 23 draw against Jessie Cris Rosales (22-2-1, 10 KOs).
The evening will be topped by a pair of IBF world title eliminators — lightweight Teofimo Lopez versus Masayoshi Nakatani and junior welterweight Maxim Dadashev versus Subriel Matias — that will stream live on ESPN+ starting at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.
“This is a great opportunity for me to showcase my skills,” Falcao said. “Nobody has seen the best of me yet, and I am working hard with Robert Garcia to improve my craft. I look at all of the middleweights out there, and I know I can compete with any of them. I fought on the biggest stage as an amateur. I will thrive when I am given that opportunity as a professional.”
Falcao (23-0, 15 KOs) turned pro in February 2014 following a storied amateur career that included an excruciatingly close 14-13 decision loss to Ryota Murata in the 2012 Olympic gold medal match (75 kilograms). A natural righty who fights as a southpaw, Falcao is a classic boxer-puncher who has never come close to tasting defeat in the paid ranks.
After winning three bouts in 2018, including a pair of first-round stoppages, Falcao returned home to Brazil for the first time as a pro on March 31, shutting out veteran Jorge Daniel Miranda over 10 rounds. Gutierrez (25-3-2, 12 KOs), from Tijuana, Mexico, is an eight-year pro who is looking to rebound from a knockout loss to Steven Butler last November in Canada. Prior to the Butler defeat, Gutierrez had been on a six-bout unbeaten streak dating back to June 2016.
In other undercard action:
Dusty Hernandez-Harrison (32-0-1, 18 KOs), one of Washington, D.C.’s most popular young fighters, will look to thrill the home region fans in an eight-round super welterweight bout versus Juan De Angel (21-11-1, 19 KOs).
Top heavyweight prospect Cassius Chaney (15-0, 9 KOs) will look to extend his knockout streak to five versus Joel Caudle (8-2-2, 5 KOs) in a bout scheduled for eight or six rounds.
Washington, D.C. native Patrick Harris (16-0, 8 KOs) will make his third appearance at MGM National Harbor in a super lightweight bout scheduled for eight or six rounds against Donald Ward (11-10-1 5 KOs).
Nathaniel Davis (1-0, 1 KO), from Lusby, Maryland, will take on Rolando Vargas (2-0, 2 KOs) in a battle of unbeaten lightweights.
Promoted by Top Rank, tickets priced at $100, $75, $50 and $25 (not including applicable fees) are on sale now and can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com or in
LIVE and exclusively on ESPN+ beginning at 10 pm ET/7 pm PT – Entire undercard to stream on ESPN+ at 6:30 pm ET/ 3:30 pm PT.
Lopez-Nakatani and the IBF junior welterweight world title eliminator between unbeatens Maxim Dadashev and Subriel Matias will stream live on ESPN+ — the industry-leading sports streaming service — starting at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.
The middleweight clash between Esquiva Falcao and Jesus Antonio Gutierrez will be the featured bout on the undercard stream live on ESPN+ beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT.
Teofimo Lopez vs. Masayoshi Nakatani ticket information
Promoted by Top Rank, tickets priced at $100, $75, $50 and $25 (not including applicable fees) are on sale now and can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com or in person at the MGM National Harbor.
The rising contender from Las Vegas, Nev.—by way of Brooklyn, N.Y.—and Masayoshi Nakatani both made weight for their lightweight title eliminator. Lopez (13-0, 11KOs) checked in at a shredded 134.4 pounds, the same weight as Japan's Nakatani (18-0, 12KOs).
Matias-Dadashev was a real war of attrition. Dadashev started strong but the brutal body shots eventually wore him down. His trainer Buddy McGirt stopped it after the 11th round even though Dadashev refused to accept the stoppage. It turned out to be a good stoppage because Dadashev had to be helped from the ring, since he could not support himself while they tried to walk him out.
Lopez' showing was very disappointing to me. Teo may defeat Richard Commey, but after this outing, I believe now that Lomachenko will dominate Teofimo Lopez.
Why in the hell were they waiting so long to get the kid medical attention... Christ he sat there for 5 minutes during all the post fight stuff...it was obvious the kid was in trouble.... terrible to see...