Tim Bradley says Teofimo Lopez was “subpar” with his Saturday night performance against Sandor Martin at Madison Square Garden in New York. Teofimo (18-1m 13 KOs) won a controversial 10 round split decision over Martin (40-3, 13 KOs) whom the boxing world disagrees.
They had Sandor winning the fight, and they felt that he got the short end of the stick with the scoring. He dropped Teofimo twice in the fight but only got credit for one knockdown.
Tim thinks the 25-year-old former unified lightweight champion Teofimo hasn’t mentally come to terms with his loss to George Kambosos Jr last year.
Bradley Teofimo was a “mentally” different person when he spoke to him this week during the fighter meetings. That defeat to Kambosos seems to have done something to Teofimo’s confidence, but also, he’s talking weirdly now, as if he’s not all there.
“The game is 90% mental, and when you’re not mentally stable, and you’re fighting those demons, you literally after to talk to yourself over and over. If you don’t have people around you to help you manage that, it’s going to be a problem,” said Tim Bradley to Fighthype, talking about Teofimo Lopez after his questionable win over Sandor Martin last Saturday.
“I said before the fight, speaking to this guy [Teofimo] during the fighter meeting, I don’t know who the hell I was speaking to. I was like, ‘Who is this kid?’ I’ve been following this kid and working his fights for the last three and a half years. I’m like, ‘This is a completely different person.’ I mean, all over the place.
“I’m not going to tell you what he said. I can just tell that something wasn’t right. I’m like, ‘The battle is not with Martin tonight. The battle is with himself.’ I knew something was off.
“So, he’s either going to spectacular tonight and prove me wrong, or he’s going to look terrible tonight. I thought he looked subpar tonight. It wasn’t what we’re used to seeing. I thought it was going to be an easier fight because he’s a superior athlete than Martin.
“His father was giving him great advice in the corner. ‘Corner this guy. Why are you throwing one shot at a time? Why are you not listening to me?’ His dad was telling him what was right.
“During the fighter meeting, his father was telling everything that they worked on. I was like, ‘Check, okay.’ I was like, ‘Okay, the dad is doing his homework. I thought his father did a terrific job with him, but Teo wasn’t listening. He just wasn’t listening to his father.
“Something has to change. Either listen, or they need to get somebody else to help him listen. I think it’s the doubt. Every time he sets foot inside the ring, the trauma that he has suffered with the Kambosos loss. He’s still dealing with that.
“You’ve got to understand that this is his second fight back since that. He’s in a new weight class; there’s a lot of pressure on him. MSG, there’s a lot to deal with.
“It’s hard for him to compartmentalize all this stuff going on around him. New deals here and that, Budweiser and all this stuff around him. For me, when I see him, the happiest he is is when he’s inside that ring.
“He needs to be more active. He’s in a new weight class.You need to get acclimated to this weight class. There are killers in this weight class, as you saw. Regis Prograis, what he did to [Jose] Zepeda and Zepeda is no slouch.
“You get in with Regis Prograis. Come on, bro. Regis Prograis is on another level. I don’t know about stopping him [Teofimo], but he’s on another level. Regis has got power, he’s got speed, he’s got boxing ability, he can take it to you, and he’s got good feet.
“There’s so much to Regis, and he’s so compact too and strong. It’s a lot to deal with for Teo right now.
“Y’all still ain’t learn,” said Bradley when asked if Teofimo could beat Devin Haney. “Haney is the truth. ‘He don’t have the power.’ He’s tactically off the chain with it. He knows how to work. He stepped to Kambosos in the fight.
“He can’t pop or nothing. He can’t crack, but he’s got that toughness, that mental toughness, he’s got the volume. There’s a lot to Devin Haney. That IQ. Haney all day [against Teofimo],” said Bradley.