Teofimo Lopez could be heading for another loss this Saturday night against Sandor Martin in their ESPN+ main event at Madison Square Garden in New York.
If the 25-year-old Teofimo loses to Sandor Martin on Saturday, it will be his second defeat in his last three fights and a clear sign that the one-hit wonder isn’t the fighter that his promoter Bob Arum initially thought he was when he was heaping praise over his head after his wins over Richard Commey and Vasyl Lomachenko.
Sandor (40-2, 13 KOs) believes that he’s already gotten to Teofimo mentally and has him worked up, upset, and already falling apart in the same way he did when he was whipped by the Australian George Kambosos Jr last year.
Sadly, Teofimo has failed to own that defeat, and his dad has become his enabler, blaming the loss on his weight problems and stuff going on in his life. The reality is, Teofimo (17-1, 13 KOs) lost because he lacks boxing skills, and his ring IQ is too low for him to beat the smarter fighters.
The only reason Teofimo beat Vasyl Lomachenko is that the 34-year-old Loma was injured and fighting a guy that was essentially a welterweight on the night of the fight.
Now that Teofimo Lopez is fighting guys his won size at 140, he’s not looking good, and if he doesn’t get beaten by Sandor Martin on Saturday, he surely will if he dares to challenge WBC champion Regis Prograis.
Weights:
Teofimo Lopez 139.2 vs. Sandor Martin 139.8
Jared Anderson 239 vs. Jerry Forrest 228.2
Xander Zayas 153 vs. Alexis Salazar 153.8
Keyshawn Davis 134.8 vs. Juan Carlos Burgos 134
Frederic Julan 175.8 vs. Joe Ward 174.4
Damian Knyba 245.8 vs. Emilio Salas 217
Tiger Johnson 141 vs. Mike Ohan Jr. 141.6
“You got to buy the Wonka bar to see if you get in the factory, the chocolate factory, and I was lucky. Only five winners get it, and I got the golden ticket,” said Teofimo Lopez to Max on Boxing about him opening up a Wonka bar on stage during Friday’s weigh-in.
“If you’re a great champion and a true champion of the game, then preparation is everything,” said Teofimo when asked about the adjustments he made for Sandor Martin.
“That’s why I love the amateurs. It’s gotten me to this big stage, headlining at Madison Square Garden. It’s me showing everybody that the takeover is taking over.
“That’s for my people in the high table to know and for everyone else to find out little by little,” said Teofimo when asked about what the deal is with him and the Wonka bar.
“The only person that beats me is me,” said Teofimo when asked if Sandor Martin has gotten to him mentally. “There’s no mental. All these guys have tried to get under my skin.
“They think what Kambosos did was it, but I was dealing with a lot of personal stuff. I was going through stages in my personal life, getting close to divorce. A lot of complications in my life.
“It’s a lot of pressure. I’m only 25. A lot of people think you can carry the whole world at that age. It’s all about now figuring out in my own headspace that the ship doesn’t move without myself. I’m the campus now, and I got to realize that more than ever.
“I can’t dictate and allow anyone else that hasn’t done anything in their life to tell me how I should live mine. We did five weeks of sparring. I feel much better. I have that maturity side going into the ring, and I feel like everyone is going to see that come tomorrow night,” said Teofimo.