By William Lloyd: Teofimo Lopez Sr. says his son won’t be staying at 135 to try and avenge his loss to George Kambosos Jr. in a rematch after losing to the Australian last Saturday night by a 12 round split decision at Madison Square Garden in New York.
According to Lopez Sr., former IBF/WBA/WBC Franchise/WBO lightweight champion Teofimo (16-1, 12 KOs) will move up to 140 and look to challenge undisputed champion Josh Taylor at light welterweight next.
Lopez Sr. says Teofimo, 24, has been at 135 for eight years, and it’s too much for him. It’s hard for him to make weight, and he doesn’t want to put him through the ordeal any longer to drain down to 135. Subsequently, Teofimo won’t be fighting Kambosos Jr. in a rematch.
After the fight, Teofimo Sr. stated that he had his son Teo winning “10 rounds to 2” or “9 rounds to 3” and that the fans at MSG were upset with the decision handed down by the judges.
Teofimo Sr. says “No rematch” with Kambosos
“No rematch, man. My mistake was leaving my son at 135lbs so long,” said Teofimo Lopez Sr. to Secondsout on Teo, not facing Kambosos again.
“We’re going to go up to 140lbs, get a fight in February, and then fight Josh Taylor. This doesn’t change anything,” said Teofimo Sr.
In hindsight, Teofimo Jr. should have vacated all of his lightweight titles after his upset win over Vasily Lomachenko last year in October and moved up to 140.
“Everybody knows he won that fight,” said Teofimo Sr. on Teo’s loss to Kambosos. “Everybody was upset; they booed the decision in MSG. It’s a bulls*** loss, and I had it 10 to 2, 9 to 3.
“I should’ve never fought with DAZN; I should’ve stood with Top Rank,” said Teofimo Sr. “We’re going to keep doing big fights, selling out arenas like we did tonight.
“I don’t blame my son for nothing. We’ve been at this weight for eight years at 135, and it’s time to move up,” said Teofimo Sr. on the plans he has for his son Teo to move up to 140 instead of facing Kambosos in a rematch.
It’s a bitter pill for Teofimo Sr. and his son to swallow, taking a loss to the enormous underdog Kambosos, but they’re going to have to live with it.
For Teofimo and his dad’s sake, it would be better for them to come to terms with the loss sooner rather than later. It’s a bad look on their part claiming they should have won, as it makes them look like sour losers.
Hearn says Teofimo did NOT win
“Listen, he’ll watch the fight back. It was close,” said Eddie Hearn to iFL TV when told that Teofimo Lopez said he thought he won ten rounds to two.
“I had it all square going through ten with the knockdown. It was very close, and then I had Kambosos winning eleven and twelve. I only had Kambosos winning the fight by one or two rounds, but Teofimo did NOT win the fight,” said Hearn.
“Could he [Teofimo] have knocked a draw? Maybe. One judge gave it 115-113 [for Teofimo]. I didn’t see it. It would have been a shame if he [Kambosos] didn’t get a decision because we live in an era where we see too many [controversial decisions], and it wouldn’t have been a robbery.
“It would have been a wrong decision in my opinion, and I think if that doesn’t happen, you lose moments like that. That’s what makes the sport so great,” said Hearn.
The boxing fans at Madison Square Garden appeared to agree with the two judges that scored the fight in Kambosos’ favor. We didn’t hear the boos until Teofimo was interviewed and said he felt that he had won the contest ten rounds to two.