NEW YORK (April 22, 2019) -Hot lightweight contender Teofimo Lopez continued to be the most talked about fighter in the sport of boxing as he knocked out European champion Edis Tatli in the 5th round of their bout at Madison Square Garden.

With the win, Lopez (13-0, 11 KOs) retained the NABF Lightweight title, and moved one-step closer to a world title opportunity.

Lopez controlled the fight from the opening bell as he showed off superior boxing skills, and with each moment started land power shots with more authority.

In round five, Lopez landed a thudding right to the body that sent Tatli down for the count of ten at 1:32.

It was the first time in the 34-fight career that Tatli, who is a former world title challenger has been stopped.

The fight, which was the co-feature the Terence Crawford – Amir Khan title clash, further made the case for Lopez as being the top lightweight contender in boxing, and that a title shot could come as early as this Summer.

“I didn’t have the best camp, but I did what I needed to do and came out victorious,” Lopez said. “I knew I was going to get him with a body shot. I softened him up and finished him.

“I want a world title shot next. That’s what I want. We promised to take over the show, and once again, I took it over.”

Photo Credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

Follow all the action as Terence Crawford defends the WBO Welterweight title against former world champion Amir Khan.  The card begins at 9 PM ET / 6 PM PT and 2 AM in the UK with Felix Verdejo taking on Bryan Vazquez; Shakur Stevenson taking on Christopher Diaz and Teofimo Lopez battling Edis Tatli.

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Round 1: Jab from Khan….HARD RIGHT AND DOWN GOES KHAN…Hard right..Right buckles Khan

Round 2 Combination from Khan..Right..Lead right and sweeping right from Crawford..Combination from Khan..Lead right from Crawford..

Round 3 Right from Khan..Counter from Crawford…Crawford switches southpaw…Right hook..Jab and left..Straight left

Round 4  Right from Crawford..Body and head..Right hook and body..2 rights..left to body..Right to body..Right from Khan

Round 5 Combination to head…Big right from Crawford,,3 punch combination..1-2 from Khan…Big left from Crawford..Uppercut..Khan lands a right,,jab..Good right

Round 6 Low blow by Crawford…FIGHT STOPPED….TKO WIN FOR CRAWFORD

Round 1 Right from Lopez..left to body

Round 2 Lopez lands a left to the body…Right to head..left hook..body and head combo..Blood from nose of Tatli..

Round 3 Right to head from Lopez

Round 4 Left from Tatli..Left from Lopez..Hard left to body…2 hard rights…Good counter right..Hard combination

Round 5 Jab from Tatli..RIGHT TO BODY AND DOWN GOES TATLI…HE DOES NOT BEAT THE COUNT

Round 1: 2 lefts from Stevenson..Right hook..

Round 2 Right from Diaz..

Round 3 Combination from Stevenson..Straight left..Good combination..Straight left

Round 4 Combination from Diaz…Right hook from Stevenson..Body shot..Straight left and body..Body shot..Straight from Diaz..Straight left from Stevenson..

Round 5 Uppercut on inside from Stevenson..Right from Diaz..Good combination from Stevenson..Combination in middle of the ring..

Round 6 Right from Diaz..Hard left from Stevenson..Combination to the head and another..Uppercut..

Round 7 Straight left from Stevenson…Combination..Combination from Diaz..

Round 8 1-2 from Stevenson…Right to body from Stevenson

Round 9 Jab from Stevenson..

Round 10 Straight left from Stevenson

100-90, 99-91, 98-92 FOR STEVENSON

Round 1 Left from Vasquez..Right from Verdejo..Big right..Counter from Vasquez..Good right from Verdejo..Jab..Right from Vasquez..

Round 2 Combination from Verdejo…Mouse under left eye of Verdejo..Right to body/left to head from Verdejo..Jab to body

Round 3 Jab from Verdejo..Body shot from Vasquez..Uppercut..Right from Verdejo..

Round 4 Left from Vasquez..Left hook..Blood from around left eye of Verdejo..Right over the top from Vasquez..and another..

Round 5 Right from Verdejo..Right..Good right..Good left to body..

Round 6 Left to body from Verdejo…Good right from Vasquez

Round 7 Long right from Verdejo..Right from Vasquez..Uppercut from Verdejo..Counter from Vasquez..Hard right from Verdejo..

Round 8 Counter right from Vasquez..Jab from Verdejo..Right from Vasquez..Right from Verdejo..

Round 9 Nice jab to body from Verdejo..left to body.3 punch combination

Round 10  Right from Verdejo..Left hook from Vasquez..Body punch from Verdejo

98-92 TWICE…97-93 FOR VERDEJO

NEW YORK (April 19, 2019)–Tomorrow night, undefeated lightweight sensation, Teofimo Lopez (12-0, 10 KOs) continues his quest towards a world championship as he takes on highly-regarded European champion Edis Tatli (31-2, 10 KOs) in the 12-round co-feature of the highly anticipated Terence Crawford – Amir Khan Pay-Per-View card at Madison Square Garden.

The fight will be contested for the NABF Lightweight title, which is held by Lopez.

Lopez, the 2016 Olympian representing Honduras, has risen through the lightweight division at a meteoric rate as he scored 10 sensational knockouts in his 12 wins.

Saturday night will be the next progression as he is the chief support bout on a major pay-per-view card in the world’s most famous arena.

This will be the 5th appearance for Lopez at the Garden property (two fights in the big arena and two in the theater), and with a win, a Summer world title fight could be on the agenda.

In Tatli, Lopez is facing a tough and durable fighter, who has a record of 31-2 with 10 knockouts. Those two losses were by majority and split decisions. Tatli has competed for the lightweight world title and has held the European title for most of the last half-decade.

Lopez was 135 pounds and Tatli was 134.8 lbs at Friday’s weigh-in

Lopez is managed by Split-T Management and promoted by Top Rank.

Photos by Mikey Williams / Top Rank

NEW YORK CITY (April 17, 2019) – The time for talking is over. Terence “Bud” Crawford is ready for business.

Crawford (34-0, 25 KOs) will defend his WBO welterweight title against Amir “King” Khan (33-4, 20 KOs) Saturday night at Madison Square Garden on the inaugural Top Rank on ESPN PPV (9 p.m. EST/6 p.m. PST).

The PPV undercard will feature undefeated lightweight sensation Teofimo Lopez against Edis Tatli in a 12-rounder, Shakur Stevenson versus Christopher Diaz in a 10-round featherweight showdown and Puerto Rican superstar Felix Verdejo taking on former interim world champion Bryan Vasquez.

Three days away from the Garden Party, this is what Crawford, Khan and their trainers had to say.

Terence Crawford

“I don’t believe no fight that I fight is just another fight for me. I believe that all fights that I fight from here on out are for my legacy. That’s why I want the biggest fights out there. Amir Khan’s name came up because he was the next best welterweight in the division. I could’ve easily took {Luis} Collazo. He could’ve took another fight with Kell Brook. I could’ve took Collazo, but that wasn’t the job that I really wanted to take. Amir Khan is a great fighter. I can’t take nothing away from. He’s done a lot in the sport of boxing. He has a big name. He’s undefeated at the welterweight division. So why not take another step up?

On not getting the credit for beating certain opponents

“Sometimes it bothers me, but that just shows how dominant I am. When you got undefeated gold medalists and world champions, where before the fight a lot of writers and fans think that they’re going to steamroll me or they’re too big for me, and this is going to be the toughest fight of my career. After the fight, they say, ‘He wasn’t that good,’ or ‘he was a stand-up fighter,’ or ‘he was slow,’ or ‘we knew you were going to do this, we just had to hype up the fight.’ So they discredit me. When you look at the fighters I’ve fought, most of them haven’t been the same after they’ve fought me.”

“I just want people to respect me for my talent and the skills that I have, and the willingness to go in there and fight any and everybody that’s available.”

Amir Khan

“This {fight} ranks at the top for me because fighting a world champion, Terence is very high in the pound-for-pound rankings, maybe number one or number two. So, it’s just amazing for me to be in this position once again. That itself is a great motivation for me, to know that I’m fighting the best out there once again. And it makes me train harder, work harder and focus on this fight. I know that I can’t make any mistakes in this fight because I could be trouble. Terence, I’ve been watching all the videos of his fights. I see how he breaks down fighters, how he sees openings and stuff, and I can’t make those openings {easy for him}. Maybe my last performance got me this fight. To me, that wasn’t the best performance. That wasn’t the best Amir Khan. I’m now back with my old trainer, Virgil Hunter, where I’m happy and he trained me the best. And he knows me better than any trainer out there. We know we’ve done everything we have to do for this fight, and I’m going to be more than ready.”

“I’ve had some good fights in the welterweight division. We fought {Luis} Collazo. We fought {Devon} Alexander. {Virgil} has brought the best out of me. Even the Canelo fight was going well until I got caught with a shot. So, I mean, whereas this fight I’m fighting someone who is my own weight, which helps. Every fight with Virgil, I’ve learned something from, win or lose, and he’s brought the best out of me. I needed to get back with someone who could bring that respect back for the sport of boxing and also make me work harder.”

“This is a dream come true, and hopefully on Saturday, a dream will come true, where I get my opportunity to fight for another world title and be one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. This just drives me, makes me work harder, train harder, stay focused. I know I have someone in front of me who is up there as number one. You can’t deny that. He’s a good fighter. I know he’s training hard because he doesn’t want to lose that unbeaten record, and I don’t want to lose this fight because I want to achieve everything I want in the sport of boxing.”

Bob Arum

“I don’t have to talk about what the public is going to see from Terence Crawford. Anyone who knows anything in boxing knows a Terence Crawford comes along very seldom in a generation. I look at him {and the closest thing I can recall to him} is Sugar Ray Leonard. Terence reminds me of Sugar Ray Leonard. I’m not going to get into who would win if they fought each other because that ain’t gonna happen. Terence is really something special, and I’m so delighted that we’ve been able to arrange this fight against Khan, who I’ve always been an admirer of. Tremendous, tremendous fighter. I know Amir remembers the time I spent with his family when he was in Manny Pacquiao’s training camp. So I know what he brings to this party, and I am really looking forward to performances by two great fighters. A generational talent in Terence Crawford, and one of the great fighters I’ve seen in Amir Khan.”

Frank Smith (Matchroom Boxing CEO)

“Amir had other opportunities he could’ve gone down, most notably probably the Kell Brook fight. But this is the fight that Amir wanted, and you have respect that and you have to respect a man who has done what he’s done in the sport, and I believe on Saturday night he’s going to go in there and do a job and become a world champion once again.”

“I think Amir, when he’s in with the best fighters, that’s when he looks the best. I think the test of Terence Crawford, taking on one of the best pound-for-pound fighters, one of the most respected fighters in the world, will bring him on. He has come back from those two fights {victories over Phil Lo Greco and Samuel Vargas}… I think as a welterweight, that’s the strongest weight for him, and I think it’s great having Virgil back in his corner. He had a great time with Joe Goossen, but I think being back with Virgil, who he’s been with for a very long time, is important to him.”

Brian McIntyre (Crawford’s trainer)

“It’s an honor to be across the ring from Virgil Hunter, and I will tell Virgil and everyone in the world that I’ll listen to him, as he {trained} Andre Ward and so many other fighters. As a student of the game, you go back and try to listen to the trainers and see what they tell their fighters in the corner… I’m glad Amir went back with Virgil Hunter because I don’t want him to have no excuses when Terence starts touching him.”

Virgil Hunter (Khan’s trainer)

“It’s been a pleasure having Amir back. It came at the right time and a good time for a fight of this magnitude, to go up against a great fighter like Terence Crawford. As coaches, we live for these opportunities. Whether we win, whether we come up short, we thrive in these settings. It’s a great opportunity, and it’s a pleasure to be involved in this event.”

“He can’t have a mental lapse. He has to be focused every second of every round and be able to read the adjustments that a great fighter like Crawford will make. He’s {excellent} at making adjustments, and we have to be able to read those adjustments and adjust accordingly to stay competitive and try to win this fight.”

ESPN PPV, 9 p.m. EST/6 p.m. PST

Terence Crawford (champion) vs. Amir Khan (challenger), 12 rounds, Crawford’s WBO welterweight world title

Teofimo Lopez vs. Edis Tatli, 12 rounds, Lopez’s NABF lightweight title

Shakur Stevenson vs. Christopher Diaz, 10 rounds, Stevenson’s IBF Intercontinental, and vacant NABO featherweight titles

Felix Verdejo vs. Bryan Vasquez, 10 rounds, lightweight

ESPN2, 6 p.m. EST/3 p.m. PST

Carlos Adames vs. Frank Galarza,10 rounds, Adames’ NABF, and vacant NABO 154-pound titles

Edgar Berlanga vs. Samir Barbosa, 8 rounds, middleweight

Larry Fryers vs. Dakota Polley, 6/4 rounds, super lightweight

Vikas Krishan vs. Noah Kidd, 6 rounds, super welterweight

Lawrence Newton vs. Jonathan Garza, 6 rounds, bantamweight

ABOUT CRAWFORD VS. KHAN
CRAWFORD vs. KHAN is a 12-round fight for the WBO welterweight championship of the world, presented by Top Rank in association with Matchroom Boxing and Khan Promotions. The event is sponsored by Geico. CRAWFORD vs. KHAN will take place Saturday, April 20, beginning at 9 p.m. EST/6 p.m. PST at Madison Square Garden, and will be produced by Top Rank and ESPN and distributed live by ESPN Pay-Per-View.

Tickets for this world championship event priced at $606, $406, $306, $206, $106, $81, and $56 (including facility fees) can be purchased at the Madison Square Garden Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster charge by phone (866-858-0008) and online at www.ticketmaster.com or www.MSG.com.

For more information, visit: www.toprank.com, www.espn.com/boxing; Facebook:facebook.com/trboxing; Twitter: twitter.com/trboxing.

Use the hashtag #CrawfordKhan to join the conversation on social media.

NEW YORK CITY (March 5, 2019) — Before pound-for-pound king Terence “Bud” Crawford enters the ring to defend his WBO welterweight world title against Amir “King” Khan, a pair of 21-year-old wunderkinds — Teofimo Lopez and Shakur Stevenson — will look to steal the show in their respective co-feature bouts on ESPN PPV Saturday, April 20 at Madison Square Garden.

Stevenson, the 2016 U.S. Olympic silver medalist, will tangle with former 130-pound world title challenger Christopher “Pitufo” Diaz in a 10-round featherweight bout. Lopez, the consensus 2018 Prospect of the Year and top lightweight contender, will face two-time European lightweight champion and former world title challenger Edis Tatli in a 10-rounder. Tatli is ranked No. 3 by the IBF and No. 10.

And, in a special attraction that will open the broadcast, Puerto Rican star Felix “El Diamante” Verdejo will fight former two-time interim super featherweight world champion Bryan Vasquez in a 10-round lightweight bout that will thrust the winner into the world title picture.

Tickets priced at $606, $406, $306, $206, $106, $81, and $56 (including facility fees) are on sale now and can be purchased at the Madison Square Garden Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster charge by phone (866-858-0008) and online at www.ticketmaster.com and www.msg.com.

Details on how fans will be able to access the pay-per-view broadcast, which will begin at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, will be announced at a later date.

The entire undercard will stream live beginning at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN+, the new multi-sport, direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer & International segment in conjunction with ESPN.

“This terrific undercard accompanying the Crawford-Khan main event will be extremely entertaining and exciting,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. “Shakur Stevenson and Teofimo Lopez are two of the brightest young lights in boxing and are facing seasoned opponents in Diaz and Tatli. Felix Verdejo is on the comeback trail, and Bryan Vasquez is a tough veteran who won’t give in.”

Lopez (12-0, 10 KOs) catapulted from prospect to contender in 2018 and early 2019 with a slew of headline-grabbing wins, including sensational knockout victories over Mason Menard and Diego Magdaleno in his last two fights. A 2016 Olympian for his parents’ native Honduras, the Brooklyn-born puncher last fought at Madison Square Garden’s big arena on May 12 of last year, punctuating his first-round knockout of Vitor Jones Freitas with a Fortnite dance that went viral. Tatli (31-2, 10 KOs) has never been stopped as a pro and has wins over current European lightweight champion Francesco Patera, top contender Yvan Mendy and former 130-pound world champion Mzonke Fana. A celebrity in his native Finland, Tatli recently took home the first prize on “Tanssii tähtien kanss,” the Finnish version of the popular BBC program, “Strictly Come Dancing.”

“Every time I fight in my hometown, I take over the show, and that’s what I plan on doing again,” Lopez said. “This is the year I become a world champion, and whoever stands in my way is going to get knocked out. If you think you’ve seen the best version of Teofimo Lopez, think again. The Takeover is coming to Madison Square Garden and ESPN pay-per-view.

“One thing I know for sure: Tatli will be dancing with the real star of The Takeover on April 20. This ain’t reality TV. This is a real fight.”

“This is a great matchup, and I can’t wait to get the job done,” Tatli said. “Lopez is a skilled fighter, and he is in for a real treat on April 20. My goal has been clear for a long time — to win a world title — and Lopez is not going to stop me from reaching it.”

Stevenson (10-0, 6 KOs) followed up a 5-0 campaign in 2018 with a spectacular fourth-round TKO over Jessie Cris Rosales on Jan. 18 in Verona, N.Y. A native of Newark, N.J. — a short train ride from Madison Square Garden — Stevenson hopes to move closer to a world title opportunity in front of his home fans. Diaz (24-1, 16 KOs), from Barranquitas, Puerto Rico, moved down to featherweight following his July 2018 decision loss to Masayuki Ito for the vacant WBO junior lightweight world title. He knocked out David Berna in the first round on Nov. 24 to set up the Stevenson showdown.

“Newark is going to be in the building on April 20 as I show Christopher Diaz what I’m all about,” Stevenson said. “After I get done with him, Diaz will wish he’d stayed at 130 pounds. Soon enough, the featherweight division is going to run through me.”

“I feel super motivated and focused as always for another big fight in another big event,” Diaz said. “I like these kinds of challenges. I’m fighting against a silver medalist of the 2016 Rio Olympics who is also a great prospect with a lot of potential. He needs to demonstrate that he has what nobody can teach him. He needs to show that he has heart and gallantry. We’ll see on April 20 when he faces his first real tough test. I will come prepared as I always do. On that night, he will understand that you can’t teach cojones and that I was born with very big ones.”

Verdejo (24-1, 16 KOs), a former amateur superstar for his native Puerto Rico, hopes to graduate to contender status with a victory over Vasquez. He suffered his first loss last March via 10th-round stoppage to Antonio Lozada Jr. in a fight he was leading. Verdejo was victorious in his comeback bout on Nov. 10 in Puerto Rico, knocking out Yardley Armenta Cruz in the second round. Vasquez (37-3, 20 KOs) has won two in a row since a tight majority decision loss to Ray Beltran in August 2017.

“I’m going into this new challenge ready to demonstrate my skills against a world-class fighter,” Verdejo said. “I hope that this fight will open the doors to big fights. I want to bring a world championship to Puerto Rico, and this is the year.”

“In order for me to lose to Verdejo, he’s going to have to kill me,” Vasquez said. “In order for him to kill me, he’s going to have to be willing to die with me. And he’s already shown that he’s not willing to die in there.”

Use the hashtag #CrawfordKhan to join the conversation on social media.