DiBella: Lomachenko should fight Lopez before he gets better

Promoter Lou DiBella doesn’t think there’s going to be any time where Teofimo Lopez is easier for Vasiliy Lomachenko.

Lou DiBella watched his fighter, Richard Commey, drop the IBF lightweight title to Teofimo Lopez on Saturday, but the promoter had no sour grapes after the bout was over, congratulating the new titleholder and expressing his admiration for Lopez.

“I saw it before Top Rank saw it. I was recruiting him when he was an amateur!” DiBella said. “He’s a hell of a young fighter. He’s a champion.”

Asked if he was surprised that Lopez (15-0, 12 KO) got Commey (29-3, 26 KO) out early, DiBella shook his head.

“He caught him! When you have one-punch power, it could land in the first, it could land in the 10th, it could land in the 12th, it could land at any time,” he said. “It landed early. The second that punch landed, I was, like, ‘OK. Goodnight.’”

The next move for the 22-year-old Lopez appears to be an in-house Top Rank showdown with WBA/WBO titleholder Vasiliy Lomachenko, who is considered by many to be the top pound-for-pound fighter in boxing.

DiBella warns not to count Lopez out, and says it’s probably the best time for Lomachenko (14-1, 10 KO) to take the fight.

“I think if I was Loma, I probably would do the fight now, because I think the kid’s only gonna get better in a year or two,” DiBella said. “It’s not like it’s gonna be an easier task later. Loma’s still more experienced, probably still more skilled, but Teofimo is dangerous against anybody in the world, anybody.”