![](https://wbcboxing.com/wp-content/uploads/Teofimo_lopez_Main-1200x675.jpg)
Photos by Mikey Williams
Brooklyn native Teofimo Lopez, the former lightweight king and current super lightweight contender, kicked off fight week 100 stories above Manhattan. Lopez takes on Spanish southpaw Sandor Martin in a 10-round main event this Saturday, Dec. 10, at Madison Square Garden. Four days from his first main event at MSG’s “big room,” Lopez went face to face with Martin at Edge at Hudson Yards, the highest sky deck in the Western Hemisphere.
Lopez (17-1, 13 KOs) captured his first world title at Madison Square Garden in December 2019, knocking out Richard Commey in two rounds. He unified the lightweight division with his October 2020 decision over pound-for-pound great Vasiliy Lomachenko and hopes to repeat the feat at super lightweight. Lopez made his super lightweight debut in August with a seventh-round stoppage over Pedro Campa. Martin (40-2, 13 KOs) has won 11 straight fights, including a 2021 upset over four-weight world champion Mikey Garcia.
This is what Lopez had to say on Tuesday, 1,000 feet above Midtown:
“This means everything to me. I won my first world title at Madison Square Garden. Who can say that? It’s always been a dream of mine since I was a kid. I always heard from Frank Sinatra himself, ‘If you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere,’ and what better place than the Mecca of Boxing, Madison Square Garden. To me, I believe that’s where legends are born – they are not made there, but they are born there.”
“This is a huge moment for me. This is a moment of a lifetime. This is equivalent to my first world title. These are the things I’m really looking forward to. This is my home. My hometown, my home field, and we are really looking forward to putting on a show for everyone on December 10th.”
Lopez-Martin tops a televised quadruple-header airing immediately after the Heisman Trophy Ceremony at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+.Heavyweight sensation Jared “The Real Big Baby” Anderson aims for his 13th straight knockout against the battle-tested Jerry “Slugger” Forrest, Puerto Rican junior middleweight star Xander Zayas steps up in class against 28-fight veteran Alexis Salazar, and 2020 Olympic silver medalist Keyshawn Davis looks to jumpstart his world title ambitions in a lightweight duel versus Juan Carlos Burgos.
Promoted by Top Rank, in association with OPI Since ’82, tickets starting at $51 are on sale now at Ticketmaster.com.
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MEDIA CONTACTS
Top Rank
Evan Korn: 516-510-6014 / ekorn@toprank.com
Gardy Lopez: 787-246-3668 / glopez@toprank.com
ESPN/ESPN+
Ardi Dwornik: 347-702-0742 / ardi.r.dwornik@espn.com
Paul Melvin: 860-766-5069 / paul.melvin@disney.com
Madison Square Garden Entertainment
Larry Torres: 212-631-5178 / larry.torres@msg.com
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