Sandor Martin Replaces Pedraza to face Teofimo Lopez on December 10
Teofimo Lopez Jr. vs Sandor Martin boxing bout, which will serve as WBC Super Lightweight Eliminator, is upon earlier than expected.
Jose Pedraza was Lopez’s original opponent at the headliner of Top Rank’s December 10, 2022 card. ESPN’s Mike Coppinger reported on Thursday that Pedraza has now pulled out of the bout due to a non-COVID-related illness contracted during the training camp.
Sandor Martin has accepted to step in on a 3-week notice to face Teofimo Lopez Jr. Martin vs Lopez was announced as the Super Lightweight Eliminator last month in WBC convention. It remains to be seen if the fight will be turned into a 12-rounds fight from the originally planned 10 rounds fight.
Martin was also one of the opponents that Top Rank considered for Lopez when the bout against Pedraza was planned for December 10. In his first fight on US soil, Martin got a big scalp in form of multi-division World Champion Mikey Garcia in October 2021 via majority decision. He has since defeated Jose Felix this year in April in Barcelona.
Lopez returned to action this year in August to defeat Pedro Campa via 7th-round TKO. It was his first fight since losing WBA(Super), WBO & IBF Lightweight title to George Kambosos Jr. in November last year.
Airing from Madison Square Garden in New York City, Lopez Jr. vs Martin main event will air live on ESPN. Tiger Johnson vs Mike O’Han Jr, Jared Anderson vs Jerry Forrest, and Johnson-O’Han’s bout are scheduled for prelims undercard on ESPN+ from 6 PM ET that day.
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