By: Sean Crose
Immediately after a hugely impressive performance against Josh Taylor, WBO and linear junior boxer Teofimo Lopez announced their retirement. Whether the talented, eccentric Lopez goes on to retire remains to be seen, but the announcement, powered by Instagram, is nothing short of remarkable if not remarkable. “What a relief!” he said, along with a photo of himself as a child next to his father. “Retired at the top. Thank you Boxing for the wonderful life you have given me and all my loved ones.” Lopez also said This is only in in his plans for Monday. When things settle, 25-year-old Lopez holds a 20-game winning 1 loss record.
One thing’s for sure, Lopez clearly made amends on Saturday night after a rough couple of years as a senior professional boxer. After surprising many people for a while before winning many lightweight titles from the legendary hand of Vasyl Lomachenko, Lopez continued to be knocked from the throne by George Kambosos in his first defense. Brooklynite then moved up to the junior weight class, although he proved not particularly effective in his new weight class. That was until this past weekend at Madison Square Garden.
Taylor, the defending WBO and linear junior champion, is widely expected to walk out of the ring in victory after taking on Lopez on Saturday. He may have faced Lopez back home, but Lopez, so the controversy went on, was too erratic, too preoccupied with personal matters and frankly not a performer. attractive performance in the junior weight class. To argue that Lopez proved the opponents wrong would be an understatement. For Lopez not only beat Taylor last weekend, he brought the previously undefeated Scots to school. Even Taylor himself later admitted that he had no excuses.
After a pretty good start, the defending champion proved to be slower, less powerful, and far less skilled than his starving opponent. Lopez has cleaned up his man several times. The reality is that Lopez didn’t just beat Taylor on Saturday night – he literally beat that man. To my surprise, Taylor actually completed the 12th and final lap on her feet. As things stand, Lopez can now earn some nice paydays against well-known competitors like fellow Regis Prograis. Provided he remains retired, however, no one can argue that Lopez didn’t walk away at the height of his game.
