Teofimo Lopez says he’s hearing that his recent opponent former three-division world champion Vasily Lomachenko (14-2, 10 KOs) isn’t “mentally OK” since his win over him last October.
Teofimo (16-0, 12 KOs) isn’t saying whether it’s a neurological issue or an issue with depression with the talented Ukrainian star.
Lopez sounds concerned about Lomachenko, who hasn’t fought since losing to him by a 12 round unanimous decision on October 17th last year in Las Vegas.
In a recent interview, Lomachenko sounded frustrated and disgusted that he was unable to get a rematch with Teofimo. He said he felt that Teofimo didn’t want to give him a rematch due to him knowing that he would lose the second fight.
Lomachenko fought Teofimo with an injured right shoulder, which he had surgery on shortly after the fight.
Recently, there was talk that Lomachenko would fight former Teofimo opponent Masayoshi Nakatani in the summer, but there’s still no date for that fight.
The two-time Olympic gold medalist Lomachenko fought well in the second half of his fight with Teofimo after throwing almost no punches in the first six rounds.
Most boxing fans would agree that Lomachenko got the better of Teofimo in the last six rounds of the fight and that if he’d started earlier, he’d have won.
“I’m hearing some reports that he’s not mentally OK since the loss,” said Teofimo Lopez to ESNEWS on what he’s hearing about Lomachenko.
“On that end, as long as he’s still training and keeping his mind focused. That’s the thing, man. You lose once and sometimes it’s not good,” said Teofimo.
It’s got to be tough for Lomachenko to come back from the loss to Teofimo because he clearly wanted a rematch, but it wasn’t going to happen. Teofimo feels he has nothing to gain in fighting Lomachenko again.
For Loma, he’s going to have to be properly motivated if he takes on the 5’11” Nakatani. That’s not the type of guy that you want to fight if you’re distracted and unmotivated due to a recent loss.
A lot of boxing fans think it’s time for Lomachenko to return to the 130-lb division because he’s giving away too much size against his bigger opponents since moving up to 135.
There’s no shame in Lomachenko returning to the super featherweight division to fight the likes of Oscar Valdez, Jamel Herring, and Shakur Stevenson.
Teofimo wants Gervonta Davis after Barrios fight
“I think it’ll be a good fight because now Tank is going up to 140,” said Teofimo about Tank Davis’ title shot against WBA ‘regular’ light welterweight champion Mario Barrios.
“I think he’ll [Davis] be a lot more comfortable, though,” Lopez continued. “It is different when you go up in weight when you don’t have the punching power, but I don’t think Tank has to worry about that.
“I think it’ll be a great fight for everybody, and hopefully, Tank wins so that we can scrap that up.
“Oh yeah, for sure,” said Teofimo about a fight between him and Gervonta Davis being a huge pay-per-view match.
“Yeah, that’ll be a hell of a fight and we can make that happen, as long as he after his fight [with Barrios], he deals with what he has to deal with, we can make this happen.
“As long as he’s already at 140, I don’t see why not,” said Teofimo of a fight between him and Tank Davis.
It sounds like we could see Teofimo and Tank Davis battle in 2022, as long as both guys win their fights this year. Teofimo is fighting his IBF mandatory GeorgeKambosos Jr (19-0, 10 KOs) on June 5th in Miami, Florida. The fight will be shown on Triller pay-per-view.
