Lopez Sr. questioned why Teofimo abandoned the original game plan against Stevenson
Teofimo Lopez Sr. suggested something mentally affected Teofimo Lopez during his loss to Shakur Stevenson earlier this year. Lopez Sr. said the version of his son that entered the ring looked nothing like the fighter he prepared for the bout.
“You know what he told me at the end of the fight?” Teofimo Sr. said to Punsh Dunk Boxing channel. “He said, ‘Dad, I felt him like a little kid.’”
Teofimo Sr. then hinted that something outside the ring may have affected his son mentally before the fight.
“I said, ‘Man, I know, bro. I know what happened. I don’t know what happened to you, but I don’t know if somebody threatened your ass or what happened in that fight,’” Teofimo Sr. said. “He don’t want to tell me, but that was not my son in that fight.”
Teofimo Sr. insisted the strategy entering the fight was for Lopez to stay disciplined and box Stevenson from the outside rather than trade punches at close range.
“The whole plan was to outbox this kid, stay on the outside and outbox him,” Teofimo Sr. said. “Then from the beginning, he just was going in and getting punished.”
The longtime trainer compared the performance to Teofimo’s sharper outing against Arnold Barboza Jr. and argued that the difference between the two fights was obvious.
“That was not my son in that fight,” Teofimo Sr. repeated. “Everybody knows my son is a slick fighter.”
Teofimo himself also appeared frustrated while discussing the criticism surrounding the loss and defended his willingness to take dangerous fights.
“I want to come back already,” Lopez said. “Canelo only dodged David. But I go and fight David, they’re like, ‘Well, he got beat up.’ What you think would have happened to Canelo?”
Teofimo also claimed he would still favor himself against many of the top names around the divisions.
“I could beat every single person that Canelo beat. I could beat every single person that Triple G beat. I could beat every single person that Caleb Plant beat,” Lopez said.
The comments quickly generated reactions from fans online, particularly Teofimo Sr.’s suggestion that something may have affected his son mentally heading into the Stevenson fight.
