It’s been nine months since Teofimo Lopez Jr. last fought. “The Takeover” will try and erase the last time he was in the ring when he makes his junior welterweight debut Saturday night in the 10-round main event against tough Pedro Campa at Resorts World in Las Vegas on ESPN.

Lopez (16-1, 12 knockouts) lost for the first time in his career dropping The Ring world lightweight championship to George Kambosos in a stunning upset last November.

Making 135 was getting too hard for Lopez, who it was revealed soon after that he should not have been in the ring in the first place.

In a great piece of journalism, ESPN’s Mark Kriegel uncovered that “Teofimo Lopez was risking his life and should have been in a hospital — rather than a boxing ring — when he lost his four lightweight belts to George Kambosos last week at Madison Square Garden, according to a doctor who subsequently examined him and reviewed his medical records.

“He could have died, for sure,” Dr. Linda Dahl, an otolaryngologist (ENT) with surgical privileges at three Manhattan hospitals, told ESPN. “How he breathed, I can’t even explain to you. It’s like somebody tied a 300-pound set of weights around his chest … like his neck and chest were in a vise.”

Lopez came in at 138.8 pounds for his junior welterweight debut. Campa (34-1-1, 23 KOs) weighed slightly larger, at 139.4 pounds.

Here are the weights:

Junior Welterweights – 10 Rounds

Teofimo Lopez Jr. (16-1, 12 KOs), 138.8 pounds vs. Pedro Campa (34-1-1, 23 KOs), 139.4 pounds

Junior Middleweights – 8 Rounds

Xander Zayas (13-0, 9 KOs), 153 pounds vs. Elias Espadas (22-4, 15 KOs), 153.6 pounds

Featherweights – 8 Rounds

Jose Vivas (21-2, 11 KOs), 127.8 pounds vs. Edy Valencia (19-7-6, 7 KOs), 127.6 pounds

Junior Lightweights – 8 Rounds

Andres Cortes (17-0, 10 KOs), 130.6 pounds vs. Abraham Montoya (20-3-1, 14 KOs), 131 pounds

Junior Welterweights – 6 Rounds

Omar Rosario (7-0, 2 KOs), 140.8 pounds vs. Esteban Munoz (6-1, 4 KOs), 140.6 pounds

Lightweights – 10 Rounds

Charlie Sheehy (3-0, 3 KOs), 134.4 pounds vs. Juan Castaneda (2-0-2), 133.8 pounds

Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter who has been working for Ring Magazine/RingTV.com since October 1997 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on twitter @JSantoliquito.

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