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Top Rank have inked another 2016 Olympian, this time signing American lightweight Teofimo Lopez, who fought for Honduras, his parents’ home country, in Rio.
Lopez, 19, lost his first fight at the Games, but showed impressive talent against France’s Sofiane Oumiha, who went on to win the silver medal. I said then to remember Lopez’s name, and here we are, two months later.
He was representing Honduras because Carlos Balderas had the lightweight spot for Team USA, but it wasn’t for lack of ability at all. In fact, it was an odd thing, as he had won the U.S. Olympic trials to give himself a spot on the team, but AIBA didn’t recognize that as an automatic bid, which they usually would have done. So instead, Balderas wound up on Team USA.
But Lopez was born in Brooklyn and now lives in Florida, so he won’t struggle to find a fan base if he proves he’s got the goods.