Teofimo Lopez moves up to 140, to face Pedro Campa Aug. 13

Teofimo Lopez is back.

The former unified lightweight champion and Pedro Campa have agreed to a deal for a junior welterweight bout on August 13.

The Top Rank Boxing on ESPN main event will mark Lopez's 140-pound debut and will likely take place in South Florida.

ESPN was first to report the story.

Lopez (16-1, 12 KOs) will fight for the first time following his November split decision loss to George Kambosos Jr, who fights Devin Haney on Saturday in Australia for the undisputed 135-pound world titles. in ESPN's Upset of the Year. The 24-year-old was dropped in the first round and rallied to floor Kambosos in the 10th, but it wasn't enough to sway the judges.

In his previous bout, Lopez outpointed Vasiliy Lomachenko in October 2020 to capture four lightweight titles.

Lopez has also dealt with a series of health issues as of late. The Las Vegas-based fighter underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left elbow in February and the same procedure on his right hand in March.

The worst issue, though, occurred after the defeat to Kambosos when Lopez was hospitalized with "extensive air in the retropharyngeal space," which could have been fatal.

"He could have died, for sure," Dr. Linda Dahl, an otolaryngologist (ENT) who reviewed Lopez's medical records in November, told ESPN's Mark Kriegel. "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 shouldn't have any troubles against Campa (33-1-1, 22 KOs), who has never competed outside his native Mexico, nor has he faced any solid competitors.

The 30-year-old is coming off a sixth-round TKO of Abimael Bautista (7-1, 7 KOs) last August 28.