If there is anything Teofimo Lopez recalls more fondly than the punch that led to his biggest win to date, it’s the fact that his victories and the aftermath continue to resonate with viewers.

The 22-year old Brooklyn native continues to bask in the glow of his 2nd round knockout of Richard Commey last December, netting him a piece of the lightweight crown in the process. The ESPN-televised title fight—which aired live from New York City’s Madison Square Garden—saw Lopez connect with a perfectly timed right hand early in round two, sending Commey to the canvas and in a discombobulated state in his best effort to rise to his feet and recover.

“It's... it's a feeling that you never feel before,” Lopez (15-0, 12KOs) admitted during a recent segment of ESPN’s Coast To Coast Sportscenter. “It's a crack shot. [ESPN blow-by-blow man] Joe Tessitore made me laugh. After the fight, I heard him say 'spaghetti legs' [to describe Commey].

“It's just right placement shots, timing. When you see their reaction afterwards and you see them (motions hands downward), I knew it was over.”

Somehow, Ghana’s Commey (29-3, 26KOs) made it to his feet in time to beat the count, but was ripe for the taking as Lopez finished him off with an ensuing flurry to claim a lightweight strap.

“I knew after hitting him with that [right hand] and I saw the way he reacted, the way he was coming back up, I knew that the fight was gonna be over,” noted Lopez.

The bout served in supporting capacity to unbeaten pound-for-pound entrant and reigning welterweight titlist Terence Crawford in a 9th round stoppage of previously undefeated mandatory challenger Egidijus Kavaliauskas. The main even proved far more competitive than expected by most, though with Lopez undoubtedly stealing the show on a card which immediately trailed network coverage of the annual Heisman Trophy awards ceremony honoring the top college football player in the nation.

Lopez made the highlight reel under similar circumstances one year ago, scoring a show-stealing 1st round knockout of Mason Menard at MSG’s Hulu Theater as part of a December 2018 ESPN telecast—fittingly on a card topped by unified lightweight titlist Vasiliy Lomachenko (14-1, 10KOs), whom Lopez will likely face in April.

The bout immediately followed network coverage of the 2018 Heisman Awards ceremony, with Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray taking top honors. Lopez commemorated the achievement and his own knockout by sporting a Murray jersey, a tradition he carried over into his 2019 appearance in donning a replica jersey in honor of Heisman winner, Louisiana State University (LSU) quarterback Joe Burrow.

“It’s all entertainment… you support all sports,” said Lopez of having fun with the moment. “It was a huge night for sports, especially college football and Heisman night is huge. We just wanted to do something like that again.”

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox