By: Hans Themistode
Teofimo Lopez thoroughly enjoyed stripping Vasiliy Lomachenko of all his world titles this past October. The two faced off with all of the lightweight marbles on the line in the Bubble at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Despite being a heavy underdog, Lopez walked away with a close but clear unanimous decision victory. While it was the biggest win of his career, Lopez has now put that victory behind him as he prepares to take on mandatory challenger George Kambosos Jr.
Considering the Australian native’s lack of experience at the elite level, most of the boxing world believes Lopez will walk right through his man. Although Lopez does believe he’ll win, he has a feeling that Kambosos Jr. is going to bring it from the opening bell.
“I think that he’s a strong fighter, a hungry fighter,” explained Lopez during an interview with Fight Hub TV. “Someone that’s going to want to come in aggressive. It’s going to be a good fight. It’s going to be one of those fights that maybe is toe to toe.”
In the opinion of Teofimo Lopez Sr., father and trainer of Lopez, he believes his son won’t have any trouble at all. Always ready to back his loquacious father, Lopez sided with his old man and his prediction. Not only is the current undisputed lightweight champion under the belief that he’ll take Kambosos Jr. out early, he might be willing to put his money where his mouth is.
“I agree with him. It won’t go past three. I’m even thinking of putting money on it.”
For anyone else, predicting a knockout win could place an enormous amount of pressure on their shoulders. In the case of Lopez, he views things entirely differently. With his contest against Lomachenko viewed as his finest hour as a pro, the Brooklyn, New York native believes he’ll be even better this time around.
“I’m a lot sharper and I had more time. In the Loma camp, we only had seven weeks, in this camp, we have nine. It’s better preparation.”