By Cassandra Cousineau of LVSportsBiz.com
Teofimo Lopez (16-1, 12 KOs) is 25-years-old. Yet, he’s managing the burden of truth of a boxer years ahead of him. Imagine needing to prove you belong in the conversation of worthy champions after just one loss.
It was a big loss in which he relinquished four belts to now de-throned George Kambosos. But Lopez, the former prodigy, has returned to Las Vegas to move up and make his debut as a 140lbs super lightweight. He is scheduled to face Mexican-born Pedro Campa inside the Resorts World Events Arena Saturday.
As he prepares to make his much-anticipated return to the ring tonight headlining for Top Rank Boxing, perhaps his greatest foe is the one that resides within. The battle for mental wellness has consumed the Brooklyn-born fighter, one that he’s acknowledged publicly as critical to his overall quality of life.
“Self care, self love. Outside of everything my sport brings to the table, everything that I’ve done in the sport. I mean, I’ve been in the game for 21 years now,” Lopez said. “So, my work ethic doesn’t change. I only grow, I only get better, but you can’t forget about you. I have to take care of my mental health above everything.”
One of Top Rank’s most bankable fighters, Lopez is outspoken, a treasure trove of hot takes who is evolving into a powerful puncher. Throw in the presence of his father/trainer Teofimo Sr., who isn’t short of audacious remarks, and junior is the perfect combination of marketing gold and athletic potential.
As with all things boxing, the packaging of this budding star has been convoluted by outside distractions. During the last two years he’s been married, divorced, became a father, and continues to be estranged from his mother and sister.
When LVSportsBiz.com asked Lopez this week about what he’s learned about the grind to get back to the top, he responded playfully with rap song lyrics, “Don’t call it a comeback. I’ve been here for years.”
The work ahead of him is no joking matter, though. Making his debut at 140 pounds this week means that he will tangle with fighters who possess more experience, and are naturally adept to match his physical prowess.
The talented young boxer dubbed himself, “The Takeover.” and made a rapid accession to the top of the 135-pound division through a viral knockout against Mason Mernard.
A win against veteran champion Richard Commey secured the IBF title, and then came the big one –a career-defining victory over pound-for-pound legend Vasiliy Lomachenko inside of the MGM Grand Arena bubble during the 2020 COVID sports shutdown.
Subsequently, he became the unified champion, holding the IBF, WBA and WBO titles.
He then lost his WBA, WBO and IBF world lightweight titles to Kambosos Jr. in his first unified title defense held at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City in November 2021.
The loss wasn’t just a professional nightmare, it almost withered the Lopez to the brink of self harm.
In October of 2021, before the Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder trilogy in Las Vegas, he revealed to reporters, “People say what’s the sacrifice. People think sacrifice is killing people. But the sacrifice really is just love, and that starts with you. That’s what happened with me. I took a step back and was like, man, I’m really thinking about killing myself. That’s how serious it got. Not once. Not twice. Maybe like three times. I was like, that ain’t right. Why am I going to want to kill myself with the blessings that I’m receiving?”
The financial blessings of a colossal payday were murky for the fighter born to Honduran immigrants as the Kambosos event was delayed multiple times because of a positive COVID test from Lopez and promotional complications defined by a $6 million purse bid spat lost by the promoter he’s signed to Top Rank, and won by flailing upstart Triller.
Leading up to the bout, Lopez suffered what was revealed afterward as pneumomediastinum, with extensive air in the retropharyngeal space.
He forced himself into the ring with pockets of air surrounding his chest, heart and neck, caused by a tear in the esophagus while he was rehydrating after weigh-in.
It would later be revealed that his physicians called it a life threatening condition. Dr. Peter Constantino told ESPN’s Mark Kriegel, “He’s lucky he’s not dead. I mean, really lucky.”
Now, he’s back to press his luck headlining in Las Vegas, the Mecca of Boxing. However, if it were up to Lopez the location would’ve been on the east coast. “I really wanted to push this flight to Miami. I guess things didn’t work out in that sense.” when press as to why it didn’t work out, Lopez responded, ”I don’t really want to discuss why that happened because it’s controversial.”
As his professional story plays out Saturday in Las Vegas, we asked Lopez what did he want people to know about him as a man.
“I’m a real man. We’re not just a one hit wonder. We’re here forever. I wasn’t man-made. I’m self made. I’m as real as it gets. As this world becomes more fake, the less real we see around and that’s what they hate. But, God is always gonna prevail, god is always gonna win, no matter what.” He continued, “ People may not like the truth, and if they don’t like it, so let it kill them.”
His journey to mental wellness is just that, a journey. Lopez is still seeking clarity and peace in his mind. All the while, he has to take care of business against Campa at Resorts World. He’s an enormous -2500 betting favorite at BetMGM and Campa is +1000.
“With the grace of God, I have to take care of my mental health everyday. I’m already the best in the world at 140 and Saturday night I will go to remind the world about that.”
Tickets for Lopez vs Campa are still available at the Resorts World Events Center in Las Vegas and the fight can be streamed on ESPN+.
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