Teofimo Lopez recounts title victory, looks ahead to Lomachenko unification bout

IBF lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez chats with Yahoo Sports' Kevin Iole about staying ready while under quarantine, his state of mind when he won the championship and focusing on unifying the title belts vs. Vasiliy Lomachenko.

Video Transcript

[INTRO MUSIC]

KEVIN IOLE: Hey, folks. I am Kevin Iole from Yahoo Sports. And one of my favorite guys always to interview-- I loved watching them fight ever since the beginning of his pro career-- one of the most exciting guys out there was Yahoo Sports prospect of the year, 2017-2018. And what did 2019 bring? What he said it would bring. A world championship. My man, Teofimo Lopez. How are you, buddy?

TEOFIMO LOPEZ: Doing good, man. Doing great, actually. You know, just trying to figure out how to stay busy throughout this whole quarantine.

KEVIN IOLE: Yeah, it's crazy. So you're in New York. So you're in-- you're kind of in the belly of the beast, so to speak. What's it like for you? What part of New York do you live in? And do you see a lot of craziness going on with everything going on?

TEOFIMO LOPEZ: I live in Brooklyn. And I think, yeah, man, I mean-- we actually left-- me and my wife. We left to Arkansas probably about a couple of days before it really got really bad up in New York. So that's how, pretty much it's been. We just been trying to-- try to avoid it by any means necessary.

You know, with my health conditions and everything, you know, I have an asthma and stuff. Got to make sure that, you know, I don't get this stuff.

KEVIN IOLE: Right. Exactly. And yet, you got to stay in shape. You were scheduled to fight Visiliy Lomachenko on May 30. And obviously, that had to get canceled because of this. But you have to stay in shape, because you don't know when they're going to come back and talk about things.

So what do you do? You know, you got the asthma condition. You know you want to get out there and work, but you know, you have to be careful of your health. So what have you been trying to do?

TEOFIMO LOPEZ: For the most part, you know, we have a treadmill. So we've just been in the garage. So I been working out pretty much in the garage. Treadmill. Got a few dumbbells, you know, free weights and stuff. Bot. And pretty much, you know, doing my sit-ups, push-ups, pull-ups, dips.

I mean, everything calisthenics, and that's pretty much, you know, [INAUDIBLE]. I'm able to run a lot more.

KEVIN IOLE: Do you feel-- is your weight controlled? Or do you feel like, you know-- I mean, you look pretty good there. But it's hard-- you know, obviously not seeing you in person. How do you feel your weight is?

TEOFIMO LOPEZ: For the most part, my weight, I feel, like it's great. You know, it's not too heavy. And we've just been maintaining on that. So we're not trying to blow up.

Obviously, we know, that we've got to face Lomachenko once we get back, and everything's normal again. And fight at 135. So got to make sure that we still know that, after all this is over, after COVID 19, you know, we're back to business.

KEVIN IOLE: I want to talk to you Loma. But let's first talk-- go back to the Richard Commey fight. You know-- that, I wasn't shocked that you won the championship. I think I was shocked in the way you won the championship. I mean, he was a pretty damn good fighter.

Clearly the best guy you had fought going into that fight. No question that he was the best guy you fought. And you blew him away in two rounds. Did you have the mindset in that fight that you would be able to do that? Or did you even surprise yourself by getting him out there as quickly as you did?

TEOFIMO LOPEZ: No. I had-- I always had the mindset that I was able to do something like that against him. You know, but I'm always like that. Just within myself, I know what I'm capable of doing. You know, and that's what makes me when these type of fights the way I do.

But Richard Commey, like you said though, he is a well-rounded, tough, just a strong 135-pounder champion. You know, I mean, going into that fight, we knew that-- you know, we're not with someone that is, you know, a pushover. So you know, just to know that we did that, just that we-- it shows that anything we put our mind to, or anything like that, we could turn anything from a dream to reality.

KEVIN IOLE: You had set the bar so high with, you know, you're knocking everybody out. What you're doing. I mean, you had highlight real knockouts, guys falling crazy. And then your two fights before the Commey fight-- not that you didn't look good, but you didn't look spectacular, right?

You had some struggles. And you had some personal issues that got chronicled, and everything. I remember you told me you weren't happy with the Tatli fight. And you knocked him out in what? Five rounds, it was? And then the Nakatani fight came back, and you go the decision.

So I think some people were wondering, hey, has Teo hit the wall? Are these personal issues getting him? What changed in your camp that you put all that in the background and was able to take it to the next level?

TEOFIMO LOPEZ: My mindset, honestly. Just pretty much, just trying to just take everything in, and just pretty much just adapt to everything, you know. And understand how things are, and that's just what it was. What it came down.

You know, I learned from the Nakatani fight, to make me understand a lot of more things. And you know, we still learning each and every day. So that was something that I took with me. And now, you know, it bettered me to where, facing Richard Commey, I looked spectacular.

KEVIN IOLE: When you look back on that now Nakatani fight, if you knew then what you know now, what do you think the outcome of that fight would be?

TEOFIMO LOPEZ: With Nakatani?

KEVIN IOLE: Yeah.

TEOFIMO LOPEZ: Oh, yeah, definitely like second, third round, knockout easy. I mean, just by the looks of it. You Just let things mess with me. That's all it was. But that's in the past. My thing now is, it's pretty much just on to the next one.

KEVIN IOLE: Yeah so that was great that you were able to pull it-- and I wonder if anybody said this to you. It dawned on me at the time when you scored the knockout that you did, the way Commey got up and went down everything, it was kind of like when Mike Tyson beat Trevor Berbick to win the title at 20 years old.

You know, you were 21. You win the world title. Berbick went down, I think, four times from the same punch. And you kind of had a similar thing with [INAUDIBLE]. Had you heard anybody talk about that and compare those two knockouts?

TEOFIMO LOPEZ: No, you're the first. No, yeah. I mean, it's crazy. It really is.

KEVIN IOLE: What was that feeling, emotional like, for you when you knew that you knew you had the belt. And you see him, and you know you're going to be the world champion. Can you describe what it was like? Because, you know, that was a dream for you for a long time.

TEOFIMO LOPEZ: Who, Mike?

KEVIN IOLE: No, no, you. When you saw that Commey wasn't going to be able to get up. What was that like? In the moment, what was your emotion like?

TEOFIMO LOPEZ: We know what we're capable of doing, like I said. You know what I mean? Just knowing that we were right there, that chance, that like right there. This is it. We can finish it.

And we did that, Man. I think that feeling right there is just to know that it finally paid off. You know? And that's what, you know-- but we still working, and we still got to keep going, you know?

KEVIN IOLE: You are one of, I think, you know, maybe the lightweights might be the best division, especially with the best young talent, when you look who's out there. You know, with Devon Haney and yourself and Ryan Garcia and Tank Davis and Loma. You know, you've got a lot of people at the very top that are elite.

But you're going right into the deep end. You're not messing around. You just decide to go to Lomachenko right off the bat. Was there ever any thought of, you know once you got the title, you know, kind of taking some of those other guys on and kind of seeing that Loma was at the top? Or was it always Loma or bust for you?

TEOFIMO LOPEZ: For me, it's not even about Loma. For me, it was just pretty much, it's really what it is. And he has the other three belts. And I'm just trying to unify and become undisputed world champion at 22 years old.

You know, obviously now with COVID-19 involved, that's not to win until I'm 23. But still, you know, things like that. Just trying to make it in the Hall of Fame eventually, one day. You know, be with the greats, like Mike Tyson, Muhammad Ali, you know. Stuff like that.

So those are my goals. And I know that they're big. But I'm pretty sure we can do it.

KEVIN IOLE: I remember seeing you fight in Rio, and you looked like a pro fighter in Rio. You lose your fight, and everything. When you left that experience, did you believe you were more suited for the pros than the amateurs at that point? And did you feel like you were about to go into something that would be better for you than what amateur boxing was?

TEOFIMO LOPEZ: Yeah, absolutely. I felt like, you know, that's the one thing that I was relieved about. You know, leaving the amateurs was pretty much going into the pros. Like I feel more-- I feel more at ease. This is like what I'm-- this is my thing.

So I was able to get comfortable on that. And you know, I mean, what? 15 fights later? You know, world champion. I mean it's not a bad thing right there.

KEVIN IOLE: I know, it's pretty-- I mean, you know you have about the same number of pro fights as Loma, but he obviously has those 400 amateur fights. And a lot of people say it's too soon. That you don't have the experience because of all-- you know, what he has done in his amateur career. Do you give any credence to those criticisms that you hear? And do you feel like, you know, you're-- this is a very big step up for you?

TEOFIMO LOPEZ: No, no. Every fight that I get into, I go into, I know is a big fight for me. You know, because it either makes me or breaks me. But again, to that, I mean, like you've got to give credit where credit is due. And obviously, Loma has all the credentials to, you know, arguably be pound for pound this time around.

You know, but that's everybody though, you know what I mean? But I don't know, man. You know, my main thing, like I said, though is just those three other belts that he has. You know, that's really it.

KEVIN IOLE: Did you-- I assume you watched his fight with Luke Campbell. Did he look vulnerable to you at all in that fight, if you saw it?

TEOFIMO LOPEZ: Actually, no. I didn't see his fight.

KEVIN IOLE: Oh.

TEOFIMO LOPEZ: I didn't see the fight, no.

KEVIN IOLE: OK.

TEOFIMO LOPEZ: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

KEVIN IOLE: So he went to--

TEOFIMO LOPEZ: Nah, I don't watch-- I don't watch these guys.

KEVIN IOLE: You don't like to see that?

TEOFIMO LOPEZ: No, I don't like to.

KEVIN IOLE: Interesting.

TEOFIMO LOPEZ: I just go-- I go out there and do my own thing.

KEVIN IOLE: Well, let me get you-- so you know, in addition to Lomachenko, I mentioned those three other fighters, Haney, Tank Davis and Ryan Garcia. Who do you think is the best of them now? And who is going to be your biggest threat of those three in the long run?

TEOFIMO LOPEZ: OK. I think all three of them are the best, you know. Don't get me wrong. All of them are the best, in their own unique ways. So you've got to give it that. But I don't know-- you know, who is my biggest threat? I don't see any three of them my biggest threat.

KEVIN IOLE: Hmm.

TEOFIMO LOPEZ: But what I do see is, you know, just good competition. But not my biggest threat, no.

KEVIN IOLE: So--

TEOFIMO LOPEZ: You know, so it could be anywhere from Devin, Ryan, Tank. I mean, any of those guys. It doesn't matter. It doesn't have to be in order.

KEVIN IOLE: Well, I'll play this game with you then. So let's just say that we've got a couple-- I can play fantasy matchmaker. So we get Devin Haney against Tank Davis. Who wins that fight? And how?

TEOFIMO LOPEZ: I got-- honestly, I would lean towards Devin. But then again, you know, Tank Davis is a very strong fighter, powerful fighter. You know, and Devin likes to just punch and run around too much.

[LAUGHTER]

KEVIN IOLE: A little cheap shot in there?

TEOFIMO LOPEZ: No, but-- overall though-- I think the fans win. That's really what it is. I think the fans win watching that fight.

KEVIN IOLE: Because, I mean, Devin has got that incredible speed. Do you feel like that would be the difference in a fight with him and Tank?

TEOFIMO LOPEZ: It's just-- no, you know. Both of them are young still. You know, they're both hungry. And obviously, you know, I think the fans-- the fight fans will win watching that fight, you know. So I can't really say. I don't know. It's a 50-50 for me.

KEVIN IOLE: And now, let's just go into Ryan Garcia. Because I know you and he have had some words over social media in the past. You know, at least a while back. He said things about you, anyways, right? I think he's improving. Like I thought before, when I named you the prospect of the year the first time, he won by most other people.

I said Teofimo was the guy. But now, to give credit too, I thought since he's worked with Eddy Reynoso, he's looked better. Do you think he has? Or are you not watching him either?

TEOFIMO LOPEZ: No. You know, they're always going to post Ryan all over the social medias. All over the socials. I didn't watch Ryan. But I know that, obviously, you know, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

You know, and since he's moved with Eddy and stuff like that. I think, that's been helping him, I guess. And you know, I think the only time he probably impressed me though, is you know, with that fight, if it still happens, with him and [INAUDIBLE]. I think that's when I be like, oh, OK, I take my hat off to you. You're getting better. You got the goods. And we could probably work with something there.

KEVIN IOLE: Right. I think the good thing for you-- have you thought about this? When you think of the guys in your division, a lot of money to be made with those guys? Especially you young guys, right?

You get out there and, to me, it's like, it could be like the Hagler, Hearns, Duran, Leonard from the '80s, with you guys now all in the same weight class. Do you think politics will allow that to happen when it comes back? And will you push top rank to say, hey, I want to fight all these guys, and screw the networks. And screw the promoters. And let's just get these fights on.

TEOFIMO LOPEZ: Well, you can't say-- well, you know, we are. And I look at it like that. Yeah, we are-- we are going to face each other, you know, eventually. And that's my thing, you know. That's what we're going to push on.

We're always going to make sure that we get the those type of fights to happen. Because in reality, you know, we can. So it's just-- the only thing is just really-- you know, I think we can make it work in both ends, as long as we're not making excuses about anything. That's the only problem.

KEVIN IOLE: So who makes excuses?

TEOFIMO LOPEZ: It just could be, in general. You know, one fighter may want to fight the fighter more. And the other fighter is probably like, you know, trying to find a way out.

KEVIN IOLE: Interesting. When-- has top ranked said anything to you about time frame? Like, how soon after we get back that you will fight? Have you gotten any indication at all?

TEOFIMO LOPEZ: I think, maybe like two months, they told me. Like-- so it's pretty much, like they'll try to get us in real quick. You know, Fury and-- Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder, they'll try to get that going. Myself and Lomachenko-- they'll try to get that going.

It's just that way. You know, so that's another reason why we're staying in shape. We just making sure that, you know, if time comes to it, that we're ready.

KEVIN IOLE: I'll wrap up, Teo, with this. One of the things that-- I think you're an emotional guy. And you feed off the crowd, it seems to me, right? And you play to the crowd. You're a showman. You know, that's what makes people like you and watch you fight. Because all the things that you do.

More than likely, you're going to fight some of these fights with no crowds. How will that affect you, when you're in an empty arena, and you know, it's just dead. Like, it's almost like sparring, you know. Will that be a little tough?

TEOFIMO LOPEZ: I'm sorry, Kevin. Say that again?

KEVIN IOLE: You know, just saying, fighting in an empty arena. What's that going to be like? There's probably not going to be fans there.

TEOFIMO LOPEZ: It's not the same. No. It's not the same. It's not the same. And it won't ever be the same. Because what makes it a great fight is the fans. You know what I mean?

And for us, it will be just like a sparring match, you know, literally. You know, so I pray that that doesn't happen. I pray that we're just back, and we are able to have the fans out there.

KEVIN IOLE: Yeah.

TEOFIMO LOPEZ: You know. Because that's what makes it a great night. And a memorable night. So you know, everything revolves around the fans.

KEVIN IOLE: Yeah, no doubt.

TEOFIMO LOPEZ: That's for sure.

KEVIN IOLE: Speaking of sparring-- I said that was the last question, but I have to ask you one other. I saw some video pop out the other day. And you were with the director Peter Berg.

TEOFIMO LOPEZ: Yeah.

KEVIN IOLE: That was kind of interesting. So you think Pete has a career as a fighter, if he wanted to do it?

TEOFIMO LOPEZ: Absolutely. Absolutely.

[LAUGHTER]

Yes.

KEVIN IOLE: How did that happen? How did that come about?

TEOFIMO LOPEZ: Yeah, he has-- he has a good strong jab, man. He keeps pushing always. Sorry about that. But yeah, Peter Berg, man. Cool guy too, on top of it.

So I had a great time, man. Yeah, we were out there in California, at Wild West. West Wild.

KEVIN IOLE: Wild Card West.

TEOFIMO LOPEZ: Yeah, Wild Card West. And yeah, man, and just had a great time.

KEVIN IOLE: Well, I'll tell you what. He's got a lot more courage than I do. Because I would not be stepping in the ring with you, sparring or no sparring.

[LAUGHTER]

TEOFIMO LOPEZ: But that's what I like about him, man. He's a-- he goes forward, man, always. That was funny. That was funny.

KEVIN IOLE: That was punched up. Well, Teofimo, appreciate you, brother. Stay safe. We can't wait to see you back in the ring. And as always, good to talk to you. Thank you for your time.

TEOFIMO LOPEZ: Ah, thank you.