By Chris Williams: Teofimo Lopez says he’s ready to knock out WBA/WBC/WBO lightweight champion Vasily Lomachenko this Saturday night, and he can’t wait to put hands on him.
The 23-year-old IBF 135-lb champion Lopez (15-0, 12 KOs) is ready to take out the old lion and take over as the king of the lightweight division.
Lomachenko, 32, has picked the wrong guy to try and unify the 135lb weight class, as far as Teofimo is concerned, and he can’t wait to defang the former three-division world champion.
Lomachenko needs to pitch a shutout defensively.
Most boxing fans and coaches are picking the highly technical Lomachenko to win this fight, but they don’t know what will happen if Teofimo explodes with one of his shots on his chin.
As great as Lomachenko is, his punch resistance is no better than many of the fighters that Teofimo has knocked out before. In other words, Lomachenko is human, and he’s vulnerable as anyone would if walloped by Teofimo.
If Lomachenko gets hit by Teofimo’s best shots on Saturday, it won’t end well for him.
Teofimo vs. Lomachenko will be shown on ESPN, and ESPN reported on Saturday night, October 17th, at ‘The Bubble’ at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Teofimo ready for war
“I have a purpose, I have a goal and I’m going to achieve that goal,” said Teofimo. “And can’t nobody stop me from it. I’m not looking at Loma; I’m looking through him.
“Time to get him out, and when we go in there that night, these [Teofimo’s two fists], I’m going to let you feel me. The only way out of the ring is through that [beep] in front of me.
“It’s literally killed or be killed, and I’m going to look at him, ‘We’re going to war. You won’t see it in my eyes, and at that very moment, I’m going to f*** you up.’ October 17th, ESPN, all or nothing,” said Teofimo.
If Teofimo wins this fight by knockout, he’ll be a star overnight, and on his way to pay-per-view. That’s the advantage of taking this fight this early in Teofimo’s career.
Although it’s incredibly risky for Lopez to face a fighter with Lomachenko’s credentials, it has a huge payoff if he wins.
Just being competitive with Lomachenko for 12 rounds would be a moral victory for Teofimo, considering that no one has given him problems in a serious way since his loss to Orlando Salido in 2014.
What could play into Lopez’s hands is Lomachenko’s style of throwing rapid-fire machinegun type of shots, which has a way of forcing his opponents to quit.
The punches are thrown with enough power to hurt his opposition, but they end up quitting because of the accumulation of punishment they take. Fighting like that against a guy like Teofimo will be dangerous because Lomachenko will get caught with something sooner or later.
Lomachenko says he’s healthy
“I never showed 100% my skill because always there was a little problem,” said Lomachenko. “My fight with [Jorge] Linares, I had a problem with my shoulder. If you remember [Jose] Pedraza, it was my first fight after surgery.
“And [Anthony] Crolla, I broke my hand, and I finished this fight. Some guys finish and say ‘no mas.’ Now I’m healthy and ready for this fight [with Teofimo], and I want to win. It will be the best fight in my pro career.
“I will put all my skill on the table, and I think it will be a very great fight,” said Lomachenko.
Injuries are part of the sport of boxing, and Lomachenko isn’t the first fighter that has competed with nagging problems. It wouldn’t be surprising if Teofimo has a few problems heading into the fight, but he’s got youth going for him.
If things don’t go Lomachenko’s way on Saturday, hopefully, we don’t hear excuses about injuries or something. After Lomachenko lost to Salido in 2014, we heard all the stuff about how he was getting hit low.
They talked about Salido being heavier than him, and it looked like excuses. The way that Teofimo punches, if he wins on Saturday, he’ll leave no doubt in the minds of the fans.
Teofimo doesn’t need judges for his fight and that’ll be positive because there won’t be controversy afterward. If Lomachenko wins, he has a way od dominating his opponents to the point where it’s clear that he’s the much better fighter.
The bad blood between Lomachenko & Teofimo Sr
Teofimo Lopez Sr: “I was by the lobby, and I see Lomachenko coming through, so and I never introduced myself to him, and I said, ‘Hey, how you doing?'” said Teofimo Lopez Sr to Blood Sweat and Tears: Loma vs. Lopez Part 2 about meeting Lomachenko on December 8th, 2018 on the Loma-Jose Pedraza card at Madison Square Garden in New York. “I shook his hand, and he ignored me.”
Vasily Lomachenko: “I think he was a little bit drunk and he started talking about his son and he didn’t like my reaction.”
Teofimo Sr: “I’ve been from the streets, and I know when somebody else doesn’t like you, and I just turned around and I went back to him and I said, ‘Hey man, you know what? We’re going to take over the show, and then my son is coming back to break your neck.”
Lomachenko: “He said, ‘My boy will crush you, my boy will eat you,’ and then he come to close and his friends come take him out.”
Teofimo Sr: “Basically, they don’t like to get talked to like that, so he took it personal. If you want to take it personal, we can take it personal.”
Lomachenko: “I think it was foolish. It’s not intelligent; it’s not smart. You’re a grown man; you’re a father. What are you doing?”
Teofimo Sr: “That’s when everything started at that point. From that point on, it was war with Loma.”
Lomachenko: “Of course, I’m fighting with him. I remember what he did.”
Teofimo Sr: “We’re going to expose Loma because I know he’s a fraud. Loma is going in there scared. It won’t go past five rounds.”
Lomachenko should have brushed off the comments from Teofimo Sr, and seen it for what it is. To get upset over what he was saying was pointless. Teofimo Sr should be proud of his son, and it’s odd that Lomachenko didn’t think about that.
Trainers predict Lomachenko vs. Lopez
Freddie Roach: “Lomachenko [will beat Teofimo]. Yeah, punchers are really good when they can land, but when you get a defensive fighter like Loma that is really elusive, it’s hard to do. He’s [Teofimo] has got a puncher’s chance, yes, but that’s the case in a lot of fights.”
Ronnie Shields: “Lomachenko is a hard guy to beat. That’s not to say that he can’t be beaten, but he’s a tough fight for anyone. I haven’t had the chance to sit down and study either one of them. I know the guys that Lomachenko has fought vs. the guys that Lopez has fought, and I think Lomachenko has fought the better competition. With the amateur stuff and all that, it’s tough to beat this guy right now. Maybe if he gets a little older, but right now, he’s a tough guy to fight.”
Robert Garcia: “It’s going to be a good fight. Teofimo has everything to pull it out, but Loma might win a decision, but Teofimo has everything.”
Henry Garcia: “You’ve got someone up and coming [Teofimo], and he’s already champion and you’ve get Lomachenko, who is a major superstar. So maybe the professor [Lomachenko] might give him a lesson or two. That’s the way I see it. I have to because of his experience,” Garcia said in giving the edge to Lomachenko over Lopez.
“You can be good and have a knockout and all that. But when you have someone that has the experience, they can take that away from you. Then you’ll be left wondering, ‘Oh man, I should have waited.’
“There are a lot of boxers out there that happened to them. Fernando Vargas is one of them where he shined and started knocking people out. That’s why we have to be careful with these prospects. They’re good, but sometimes it’s not their time yet. They have to develop.”
As you can see, the trainers are overwhelmingly picking Lomachenko to win this fight on Saturday night. We’re going to see some backtracking on Sunday if Teofimo comes out the winner of this fight. It’s going to be interesting to hear what they say in the aftermath.