By Norm Frauenheim –
There’s not much Teofimo Lopez won’t say these days. He’s a shock jock in a concussive business, one that has seemingly heard it all.
The latest came at a news conference not long after Lopez said he wants “to kill” Josh Taylor Saturday night. In so many words, it’s been said before by Deontay Wilder and many more.
Often, it’s hyperbole, an unnecessary exaggeration in an already deadly game.
But, no, Lopez apparently wasn’t exaggerating. Then again, it wasn’t exactly clear what he meant either
“Aim for death for that’s where life begins,’’ he said Thursday before a contentious ESPN (7 p.m PT/10 p.m. ET) fight for Taylor’s junior-welterweight title in The Theater at New York’s Madison Garden.
Taylor (19-0, 13 KOS) laughed, then said “OK, no comment.’’
Lopez (18-1, 13 KOs) went on, doing what he does best. He talked.
“I think it’s a good one,’’ he said as he gestured like a sidewalk preacher at Taylor and Top Rank host Mark Shunock. “You aim at death for that’s where life begins. Everybody is scared of death. I don’t know why. We all gonna die.
“But at least if I die, I’m dying for something that means something, that’s gonna last forever. That’s what greats are all about. Something that you don’t really know.
“I mean, this is what we all about. Remaking history, making history and giving the fans, giving the kids – the youth – a good thing to follow on. They need that. They need that motivation, that they know they can do it too
“The only way they can. There’s earth, there’s man and, in between that, you bring the realization within yourself. From the heavens.’’
On stage, there were awkward glances. In the audience, there were awkward laughs. What on earth? From the heavens, no answer to that one.
“Listen, at the end of it all, everybody can laugh, do whatever the f— they want,’’ Lopez said just as Shunock turned and tried to address Taylor. “But it’s just me and him, this fighter.’’
The baffling, uncomfortable moment just left further questions about Lopez. As a fighter, he has struggled ever since his upset at lightweight of then pound-for-pound leader Vasiliy Lomachenko on October 2020.
He suffered a first-round knockdown in November 2021 against Australian George Kambosos Jr., who went on to upset him by split decision in front Lopez’ hometown fans in New York. Lopez, who suffered from a respiratory condition, loudly complained about the decision. Kambosos called him delusional.
In December, he got knocked down by unknown Spaniard Sandor Martin before winning a debatable split decision, also in New York. After the fight, a hot mike caught him asking himself:
“Do I still got it?’’
It was a question rooted in self-doubt. A crisis in confidence, a fighter’s identity in peril.
Since then, he talks and talks as though he’s trying to convince himself as much as his skeptics. He has ripped ESPN commentators Timothy Bradley and Andre Ward.
Bradley, he says, doesn’t belong in the Hall of Fame. Bradley will get inducted into the Canastota Hall Sunday after working the Lopez-Taylor fight.
He talks about seemingly everything yet ignores that anguished question he asked himself seven months ago.
It’s an answer that Taylor might deliver definitively and painfully. The odds make Taylor a slight favorite despite questions surrounding his controversial decision over Jake Catterall in his last outing.
But the pundits are one-sided. In a poll conducted by The Ring, the pick-to-win was unanimous. And perhaps devastating.
Twenty for Taylor, 0 for Lopez, a lonely man in a desperate fight for a victory that would speak for itself.
Valdez-Navarrete set for AZ
As expected, Oscar Valdez-versus-Emanuel Navarrete is set for Desert Diamond Arena August 12, Top Rank announced this week.
“I’m excited to return to the ring, especially because it’s for a world title against ‘Vaquero’ Navarrete” said Valdez (31-1, 23 KOs) a two-time champion from Nogales who went to school in nearby Tucson. “Being a world champion is something that I always dreamed of. I already did it two times, and this is yet another opportunity.
“So, I’m excited and prepared both mentally and physically for this new opportunity. And I like that it’s between two Mexicans, because it’s a win-win for Mexico. It’s a guaranteed war when there are two Mexicans in the ring.”
Navarrete won the World Boxing Organization’s vacant junior-lightweight title in a dramatic ninth-round TKO of Australian Liam Wilson, a late-stand-in for an injured Valdez, last December at Desert Diamond.
“After so much time, this fight will finally take place,’’ Navarrete (37-1, 31 KOs) said. “Obviously, I am 100 percent motivated because Valdez is still a big threat, and a fight against him could possibly be the start of a new Mexico-versus- Mexico rivalry like the one between (Marco Antonio) Barrera and (Erik) Morales.”
