Teofimo Lopez's 5 best knockouts

Teofimo Lopez, widely known as 'The Takeover,' makes his long-awaited return to the boxing ring tomorrow night at a new weight class. He takes on Pedro Campa at 140lbs, and plans to run through the division much like he did at 135lbs. In his return, he has claimed that the takeover has already begun and all those in his new divison should be on notice when he re-enters the ring.

With only so many hours left as we count down the clock to Lopez's walk to the ropes, let's rewind and take a look at his best work inside the squared circle.

#5. Teofimo Lopez vs. Victor Jones Freitas

The fight took place on May 12, 2018 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Entering the fight, Lopez was 8-0 with 6 knockouts at just 20 years old, and his opponent Freitas was 13-1 inside the ring with 7 knockouts at a relatively older 25 years of age. Both fighters were evenly matched on paper and even had similar height, weight, and reach stats, but the truth was revealed in the ring.

This eight round bout was incredibly short-lived as Lopez ended the fight in the very first round. The moment the bell rang, Lopez was pressing the pace and judging range between him and Freitas to set up a knockout.

Within the very first minute of the match, Lopez landed a looping right hand to the ear that put his opponent face down on the canvas. The match was immediately called off when Freitas couldn't get back to his feet and Lopez celebrated with a Fortnite dance move and an effortless backflip.

#4. Teofimo Lopez vs. Ronald Rivas

This fight also took place on May 20, 2017 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Coming into this fight, Lopez was 19 years old with four KO victories, and Rivas was 5-5-2 with 3 knockouts at 30 years old. Entering this six-round fight, Rivas was coming off of a draw.

Following an intense staredown in the center of the ring, the fighters were sent to their corners for the bout to begin. Lopez came out guns blazing and the pair immediately began trading punches-- there are no slow starts if your opponent is Teofimo Lopez.

Teofimo switched between head and body shots and quickly got in and out of the pocket to exchange without taking much damage. Throughout the first round, they continued to trade and towards the end, Lopez was getting the better of all of the exchanges between them.

In the second round, Lopez immediately landed a sharp right hand that stumbled Rivas who recovered quickly.

Lopez then stunned him with a sharp left hook to the jaw with 42 seconds left in the second round and his legs became jelly as he crumbled to the mat. Flat on his back and arms splayed out, Rivas was unable to even sit up for a count. The ref waved the bout off and 'The Takeover' celebrated with his signature backflip.

#3. Teofimo Lopez vs. Diego Magdaleno

The bout took place on February 2, 2019 at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, where Lopez retained the WBC-NABF, WBA-NABA, and IBF-USBA lightweight titles. This bout was scheduled for 10 rounds, but would only lasted for seven. This match would put Lopez at 12-0.

Entering the fight, Lopez had been dubbed as prospect of the year and began calling his dominance 'The Takeover.' Throughout the rounds, Teofimo Lopez pushed the pace and got devastating hits in on his opponent, but Magdaleno fought back with barrages of punches. In the sixth round, Lopez sent Magdaleno to the canvas momentarily with a left hook, but he was able to regain his feet.

With two nasty, jaw-crunching left hooks even the crowd could hear, Lopez sent his opponent to the floor for the second and final time in the seventh round. The first hook wobbled Magdaleno and the second turned out the lights. Magdaleno laid out on the canvas in a starfish position, then tried to stand back-up, but was unable to continue. After an eight count, the match was called off.

#2. Teofimo Lopez vs. Richard Commey

The match took place on December 14, 2019 at Madison Square Garden and was set for twelve rounds for the IBF lightweight belt.

Teofimo Lopez was 14-0 with 11 KOs and Commey had a record of 29-2 with 26 knockouts. They were relatively evenly matched in their stats, but Lopez outclassed Commey and landed the harder shots. He was landing at a clip of 48.6% while Commey was only able to connect on 33.7% of his punches.

In the opening round, Lopez worked to utilize his jab, but he didn't throw as many combinations as fans were used to seeing. It was a patient first round as both fighters were establishing range and feeling out the power of their opponents.

In round two, both fighters were more active and traded punches, and with a vicious right hand, Lopez sent Commey stumbling around the ring until he fell on his backside. The referee began the count but Commey was able to get back on his feet and continue the fight, but not for long. Lopez pinned him to the ropes and unleashed a whirwind of punches on Commey, who could do little to defend himself. With too many going punches unanswered, the referee jumped in to save Commey and waved off the bout.

#1. Teofimo Lopez vs. Mason Menard

The fight took place on December 8, 2018 at the Hulu Theatre in New York City. The bout was set for ten rounds, but would only last for one. Upon entering this match, Lopez was 10-0 and still considered a surging prospect. He would leave 11-0 and win the vacant WBA-NABA, WBC-NABF, and IBF-USBA lightweight titles in the process.

This knockout is almost too brutal to watch, so beware.

The opening bell saw Lopez immediately work his jab a few times before heading straight into combinations that pinned Menard to the ropes. Menard was able to circle out, but Lopez followed to cut off the ring, leaving Menard nowhere to run.

Lopez threw an overhand right and landed perfectly on Menard just 44 seconds into the round. Menard's body locked up and his hands dropped, and he leaned forward onto his tippy-toes for a terrible moment before face-planting onto the ground.

Mason Menard was so out of it that he was unable to even brace his fall with his arms as he hit the floor. The bout was immediately waved off as Menard could barely lift his cheek off of the mat. Teofimo Lopez once again celebrated his victory with a Fortnite dance move and signature backflip.

Teofimo aims to add another knockout to his highlight reel tomorrow night against a tough opponent in Campa.