Teofimo Lopez has doubled down on his promise to go out on top.
The two-division and recently crowned lineal/WBO junior welterweight champion insists that he is prepared to move on to other ventures within the sport, just not in the ring. Lopez told ringside reporters as much shortly after his stunningly dominant points win over previously unbeaten champ Josh Taylor this past Saturday at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater in New York City and continued with the retirement talk during his recent media tour.
“I’m going to be announcing my retirement from the sport of boxing,” Lopez told ESPN’s Max Kellerman on Monday. “Blood, sweat and tears. Twenty-five years young and the first male, really, to become a two-time undisputed champion… in the four-belt era. I’m very grateful for it.”
Brooklyn’s Lopez was not undisputed at lightweight or at junior welterweight but is a two-division lineal champion.
He defended the IBF lightweight title and won the WBA and WBO titles in an October 2020 victory over Vasiliy Lomachenko, along with the WBC ‘Franchise title while re-establishing lineal status at the weight. Scotland’s Taylor (19-1, 13KOs) was the recognized lineal champ but the WBO title was the only physical title still in his possession before Lopez (19-1, 13KOs) emphatically ended his reign.
Saturday’s victory was vindication for Lopez, who hadn’t looked the same in his three bouts following his previous career-best win over Lomachenko (17-3, 11KOs). He traded knockdowns in an eventual lightweight championship-ending defeat to George Kambosos in November 2021 also at Hulu Theater and looked ordinary in wins over Pedro Campa and Sandor Martin.
The win over Taylor, however, was a reminder of the remarkable achievements by Lopez through just 20 pro fights and at 25 years of age. It came after a bizarre buildup to the fight, with Lopez making several controversial remarks in recent weeks to the point of concern raised over his mental health state.
All of that was an afterthought after Lopez reminded the world that he still belongs among the very best in the sport. Blockbuster fights await whether from the young lightweights—Devin Haney, Gervonta Davis, Shakur Stevenson—moving up in weight, unifying versus the current crop of junior welterweight titlists or in high profile title defenses versus Ryan Garcia or even the comebacking though faded Adrien Broner.
That’s if he backs down from his claim to step away and in fact moves forward with his career.
“Right now, I’m just really… I have a lot of ideas about the sport of boxing,” noted Lopez. “I really can’t do that if I’m always in the gym training and preparing for another fight. So, I’m just gonna really focus right now on that task.”
By Jake Donovan