March 19, 2024

Crawford vs Khan results: Teofimo Lopez knocks out Edis Tatli in fifth round

By Scott Christ

Badlefthook.com

Teofimo Lopez wanted tonight to be his last co-feature, as he was in the main undercard slot on the Crawford-Khan pay-per-view, and his performance against former European lightweight champion Edis Tatli might have been enough to make that reality.

Our live coverage of Crawford vs Khan continues here!

Lopez (13-0, 11 KO) knocked out Tatli (31-3, 10 KO) in the fifth round on a right hand to the body, having pretty much cruised in the opening four rounds before that.

It wasn’t the most electric of Lopez’s performances to date, but the 21-year-old lightweight got a solid win for his level and where he’s really at in the sport as a prospect. Tatli is a decent, basic sort of fighter, never was going to really challenge Lopez, but he’s not a total bum or anything, either. It was just about levels. Tatli simply doesn’t have the talent to beat Lopez if Lopez is what he’s supposed to be, and Lopez was more or less as advertised tonight.

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“I called it, I said it’s not going past six and that it would be a body shot. That’s what happened,” Lopez said after the fight.

Asked what he wanted next, Lopez didn’t make any big call out — he didn’t mention Vasiliy Lomachenko’s name — but he said he wanted to return in July for a main event at Madison Square Garden. The main arena might be a stretch just yet, but the MSG Theater could certainly be doable.

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