Teofimo Lopez to consult with hand specialist after suffering hairline fracture

Lightweight prospect Teofimo Lopez (10-0, 8 KOs) put on quite the performance last weekend when he throttled William Silva over six rounds to force three knockdowns and a stoppage — but despite the one-way action he didn’t emerge from the fight unscathed.

Lopez believes he injured his right hand in the opening round against Silva and following the win he had the hand x-rayed which revealed a hairline fracture. In light of the diagnosis Top Rank’s Carl Moretti tells ESPN that Lopez will consult with reputable hand specialist Dr. Steve Shin who is noted for his work with professional Los Angeles sports teams as well as fighters like Vasyl Lomachenko and Jose Ramirez.

“He’s in a soft case,” Moretti said. “He said it happened in the first round. We’ll know more after he sees Dr. Shin on Wednesday. There’s no target [for Lopez’s return] until we get a complete diagnosis from Dr. Shin. I wouldn’t venture to say anything more until the doctor tells us what he thinks. What’s the sense of guessing when you have the best hand doctor looking at it on Wednesday?”

Lopez, 20, has pretty quickly made a name for himself in the professional ranks with only 10 fights due to his outspoken personality to go along with his flashy brand of boxing. The kid looks like he has the talent to soon compete for a world title, but there are some real good fighters atop of the lightweight division.

Do you like Lopez’s chances against any of the current lightweight titleholders?