By Chris Williams: Teofimo Lopez says his fight with Vasily Lomachenko will NOT be going the distance when the two of them meet up for a lightweight unification fight. In giving an update, Lopez is isolating indoors staying in shape while he waits for the coronavirus situation to improve.
Teofimo, 22, will look to use his size and power advantage over Lomachenko to beat him. Lopez isn’t technical as Lomachenko, but he does have a huge advantage in power and size. The youth is also a big plus for Lopez, as long as he can stay active enough to get to the elusive 2-time Olympic gold medalist.
Lopez moving up to 140 after Lomachenko fight
IBF champ Lopez (15-0, 12 KOs) says his fight with WBA/WBC [F]/WBO unified champion Lomachenko could be his last at 135 before he moves up to 140. Teofimo states there’s no reason for him to stay at lightweight.
Boxing fans would disagree with that opinion, considering that there are three tough opponents for Teofimo in Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis, Ryan Garcia, and Devin Haney. For some reason, Teofimo isn’t excited about fighting them. If Teofimo loses to Lomachenko, as many boxing fans believe will happen, those fighters might not see any reason to fight him.
Teofimo plans on bullying Lomachenko
“Yeah, absolutely,” said Lopez when asked by Crystina Poncher from Top Rank Boxing if his plans are to STILL fight Lomchenko after the coronavirus goes away. “We’re still trying to make that fight happen and then move up to 140. Right after the Loma fight, we’ll move up to 140. In my last fight against Richard Commey, I made 135 very easy, but that was with 9 hard weeks of camp. But if we do that, I might stay a little longer.
“I believe a lot of people will be at the edge of their seats watching this fight. It’s the type of fight where it’s not going to go 12 rounds. I don’t see it being technical. It’ll be technical at some points, but at other points, it’ll be me pretty much just muscling him. Being a bully, and then going back and forth with that. Seeing what he can chew on and what he can’t chew on. That’s about it,” said Davis.
For Lopez to bully Lomachenko, he’ll need for him to be stationary, and that’s not how he fights. In Lomachenko’s last contest against Luke Campbell, he was moving constantly with an in and out style, and very hard to hit. Campbell did land a lot of shots but missed a lot as well. Teofimo will need to cut off the ring, and not get frustrated with the movement that Lomachenko will be using.
Lopez: Devin Haney isn’t the REAL WBC champ
“For me, it shows that I’m ready for anybody that throws anything at me,” said Lopez on his win over Commey. Devin Haney isn’t the REAL WBC champion though. He’s the Recess Champion now, which makes me laugh,” Teofimo said about Haney, who the WBC recently stripped him of his title after he suffered a shoulder injury.
“I could stay at 135 but what is the reason for? It’s just for bragging rights, you know? He hasn’t faced anyone where I can say, ‘We can make a good fight out of it.’ If we fight, it would be in Vegas. He obviously has a huge fanbase out there, and we could make it happen. We got to make it bigger. These are the type of fighters I can make easy money off, so let’s make it happen but I want to wait,” said Teofimo.
Fans would like to see Teofimo stay at 135 long enough to fight Haney, even if he’s coming off of a loss to Lomachenko. Haney vs. Lopez would still be a great fight even under those less than desirable conditions. Lopez’s promoters at Top Rank will want to rebuild him after a loss to Lomachenko, so a fight between him and Haney would have next to no chance of happening.
With the way Teofimo is dismissing Haney as a champion, it sounds like he doesn’t want any part of him. Haney, 21, is a bad style match-up for Lopez with his boxing ability, and his ability to do a lot of different things inside the ring.
Teofimo targeting Tank Davis, NOT Ryan Garcia
“Tank Davis,” said Teofimo when asked which fight [Ryan Garcia or Gervonta Davis] appeals to him. “But then again, Ryan Garcia too. Ryan has the fan base, but not the skills that Oscar De La Hoya did. So that would be good.
“You get all that. Tank, the only problem with him is he could be so much more than he is, but he doesn’t have the discipline at all. His discipline is s***. It’s literally pure s***. I love the [Tank] fight. I’d say Tank,” said Lopez.
Ryan Garcia never mentions Teofimo’s name, and that indicates that a fight between them isn’t likely to happen in the future. Garcia is Golden Boy Promotions, and they may opt to keep him on a different path than Teofimo. However, if the two become big stars, then it’s possible we could see them battle in the future.
Tank Davis seems destined to move up to 140 in the near future, and that means we could see those two face each other at some point. For the time being, Lopez isn’t going to hang around and wait on a fight with Tank to take place. It’s good to know that those two have a good chance of meeting up in the not too distant future, as long as their promoters let the fight happen.
Tank Davis is with Mayweather Promotions, and it’s difficult to picture them making a fight between him and Lopez anytime soon.
Lopez sees himself at 154 or 160 in future
“I think the max that I would go is from 154 to 160,” said Teofimo when asked how high he thinks he could go before he finishes his career. “I love to eat. My family calls me ‘Gordo’ for a reason. I could probably go up to 160.”
It could be difficult for Lopez to fight at 154 or 160. He’s not big enough and he would struggle against the taller fighters in those weight classes like the Charlo brothers. Canelo Alvarez is the same height as the 5’8″ Teofimo, but he’s a lot faster in terms of hand speed and head movement.
147 is perhaps the highest that Lopez will be able to compete at and have success, and that division could prove to be a bridge too far. The problems that Teofimo had against Masayoshi Nakatani showed that he can be outboxed by taller fighters, and he struggles against fighters that jab.
Lopez will have a lot of proving to do when he moved up to 140, being that he’ll need to deal with Regis Prograis, Josh Taylor and Jose Ramirez. Of course, if Lopez takes the same approach that he’s using at 135 by dismissing the top guys as being worthy for him to fight, then he won’t need to worry about losing. If Lopez takes that approach, he’ll never become a star in the real sense.
Teofimo reveals what Arum told him
“He said, ‘Listen to me, we can make a lot of money. Don’t F*** it up,'” Teofimo said in revealing what his promoter Bob Arum whispered to him moments after he knocked out Richard Commey in the 2nd round on December 14. “I said, ‘I got you, Bob.’ I padded him on the back and said, ‘I got you, don’t worry.’
“You guys will definitely see us in the Fall or maybe in the winter, but you’ll definitely see Teofimo and Loma fight later this year. Crossed fingers. Stay safe, wash your hands, and stay indoors,” said Lopez.
Arum wants to turn Lopez into a star, but he may need to go a different route if he loses to Lomachenko. It won’t be the end of the world for the 22-year-old Teofimo if he loses to Loma since he’ll still be young enough to rebuild.
Some boxing fans think Arum is making a mistake of matching Teofimo against Lomachenko at this early stage of his career, but this was the only chance the promoter had to make the fight. Lopez is about to move up to 140, and Lomachenko is planning on moving back down to 130 after their fight.
In Teofimo’s last fight against IBF lightweight champion Richard Commey in December, he had a stationary target, who was there to be hit. Commey was trying to slug with Lopez, and that enabled him to land a big right-hand shot that put the champion down in round 2. It could prove a lot more difficult for Lopez to do the same thing against Lomachenko.
