Teofimo Sr says “Floyd wants to humble” Tank Davis

By Boxing News - 05/02/2023 - Comments

By Adam Baskin: Teofimo Lopez Sr believes that Floyd Mayweather Jr wants to “humble” his former star Gervonta Davis by matching him against Teo and seeing him get beat.

Lopez Sr points out that Mayweather and Gervonta are not on good terms right now, so Floyd wants to put the Baltimore native in his place by feeding him to the former unified lightweight champion Teofimo (18-1, 13 KOs) to have him taste defeat for the first time.

If Teofimo finds success at 140 and regains his lost popularity, it’s predictable that Gervonta will fight him.

However, it’s not likely to happen because Teofimo appears over the hill at 25 and is not the same fighter he once was since his battle against Vasily Lomachenko.

That fight took a lot out of Teo, leaving him a babbling shell ever since, making no sense when he talks. That happens sometimes with fighters, and Teofimo is a classic example of a fighter that has become punchy overnight.

Also, Teofimo Sr says he sees his son becoming undisputed at 140, 147 & 154, which is unbelievable after how he looked in his last fight against Sandor Martin and his two prior contests against Pedro Campa and George Kambosos Jr. Teofimo looked mentally shot in those fights, and he openly questioned whether he still had it after controversial 10 round split decision win over Sandor Martin last December.

It’s got to be tough for Lopez Sr to watch his son’s career fall apart so quickly after his brief bit of success at 135 when he had a big size advantage over his opposition. Now that Teoifmo is fighting guys his own size at 140, it’s clear that he lacks the talent to be more than a fringe contender.

Teofimo is fighting WBO light welterweight champion Josh Taylor on June 10th on ESPN at the Hula Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. If Teofimo loses that fight, he may retire.

Can Teofimo humble Gervonta Davis?

“What’s happening with Floyd and Tank? They’re not in the right communication right now. They’re fighting each other,” said Teofimo Lopez Sr to Mill City Boxing. “So what are you going to do? You’re going to put him [Tank Davis] with the top dogs. Floyd wants to f***ing humble him.

“That’s why he said, ‘Teofimo Lopez.’ We have a fight right now with Josh Taylor. Floyd should have said, ‘I want to see him with Josh Taylor.’ Who is the top dog at 140? Josh Taylor.

“He mentioned us because he sees us going through Josh Taylor already. Floyd knows we got something. The big man himself went against us when my son was supposed to fight Kambosos. He went and fought the same night as my son.

“Why? Because Floyd sees that ‘this is the only guy that I see that can outdo me.’ Because my son was doing everything so quick, he didn’t want my son to outdo him with his career. Now Floyd is laid back and chilling because he said he [Teofimo] lost. ‘He can never outdo me because this kid lost,'” said Lopez Sr.

Lopez’s vision on Teo’s future

“So he’s always going to have this confidence inside him, saying, ‘The only guy that I thought could outdo me, he lost now. So now I can have that against him,'” said Teofimo Sr.

“So even though I know we’re going to outdo him because once my son starts winning all these back-to-back undisputed titles because that’s my goal to be undisputed at 154 and be undisputed at 160.

“We want to take it to another level, and I know my son has enough time to do it. He’s only 25 years old, and he’s a slick boxer. He hasn’t shown his skills in these past fights. Why? Because he wants to prove to the crowd that he can knock everybody out.

“I told him that s**t is going to happen no more. The knockout is going to come, but you’ve got to work for it. You got to be nice & calm like you always was and see all the punches coming because that’s what you’re the best at.

“This kid can see everything coming. But if he’s gone aggressive, it’s not going to work. This fight with Josh Taylor is going to be the #1 denominator to show the whole world who he is and where we’re going,” said Teofimo Sr.

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