By Craig Daly: Teofimo Lopez Sr says his son Teo needs a knockout against WBO light welterweight champion Josh Taylor on Saturday night, or else he will get robbed by the judges. A knockout, either way, would be an ideal ending to the Taylor-Lopez fight because neither side could cry robbery.
Taylor (19-0, 13 KOs) and Teofimo (18-1, 13 KOs) will meet at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Some would argue that Teofimo Sr is already setting the table for excuses to give to the fans if Teo loses to Taylor (19-0, 13 KOs) because by talking robbery ahead of time, it’s predictable that he’ll use strategy to muddy the water.
One would hope that Teofimo Sr takes the high road in the aftermath of a loss for his son, but what we saw with him talking about Teo being injured in his defeat against George Kambosos Jr, we could see some excuse given if things don’t go their way.
There’s a lot of bad blood on both sides heading into Saturday’s fight. Taylor doesn’t like the way Teofimo Jr has talked about wanting to “kill” him, but there are a lot of other things that he dislikes about him as well.
For example, Teofimo embellishes his ring credentials by insisting he’s a former undisputed lightweight champion, which he isn’t because he never won the WBC title.
“That boy is scared, bro. I can’t wait. That boy is scared,” said Teofimo Lopez Sr at the final press conference, talking about Josh Taylor. “It’s all about entertainment. “We got to knock this dude out.
“If we don’t knock this guy out, they’re going to take this s**t from us because nobody wants to see us at top. Everything is for a reason, and this kid is running scared,” Teofimo Sr continued.
“He doesn’t know what’s going to happen that night. We know. My son is ready, and my son is going to destroy this freaking Scotland boy back home. Did you say something about his skirt?
“My son has never been hurt in the sport, and this dude is saying he’s going to knock him out in six rounds, but then yet, he’s saying, ‘I don’t want all the judges to be American.’ Then what is it, buddy? Are you going to knock him out in six rounds, or are you worried about the judges?
“You don’t make no sense. This guy is already scared. We’re not even in our prime right now. He’s only 25 years old. He [Teofimo] doesn’t even have 20 fights, and right now, he’s going to be back-to-back undisputed. It’s crazy, man,” said Lopez Sr.
“This is what dreams are made of, fighting at Madison Square Garden,” said Taylor. “I’m certainly training to render him unconscious. Punches thrown with real intent to cause pain and damage. Yeah, I got something in my shorts for you.”
