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Sport

04th Feb 2019

Brooklyn boxer’s disrespectful celebration did not go down well with opponent’s corner

The knockout was brutal. The celebration was unnecessary

Darragh Murphy

You’re going to hear plenty about Teofimo Lopez in the coming years.

Lopez’s talent is undeniable but it could be his disdain for his opponents that earns him more column inches in the future because it is clear that his penchant for flashiness is going to ruffle some feathers.

At 21 years old, Lopez looks to be one of the top prospects in world boxing and he added to his perfect professional record on Saturday night, when he brutally knocked out Diego Magdaleno in Texas.

Magdaleno should never have been allowed to continue into the second half of the bout on the undercard of Sergey Kovalev vs. Eleider Alvarez, such was the beating put on him by Lopez.

At one point, Lopez even threw a punch behind his back and obviously felt no threat from his opponent throughout the fight, ultimately finishing with two devastating left hooks in the seventh round.

Magdaleno sustained some needless punishment and was clearly outmatched by Lopez, whose post-fight celebration almost caused a scuffle in the ring.

Lopez began dancing even before the referee waved the fight off and he then took to the air with an incredibly athletic backflip before motioning as if he was shovelling dirt on his injured opponent.

Apparently, Magdaleno’s younger brother Jessie did not take kindly to the showboating and attempted to confront Lopez but security prevented the altercation.