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Teofimo Lopez believes that his last opponent was “not boxing” and “ran” from him in their bout earlier this month at Madison Square Garden, New York.
The fighter spoke to Bernardo Osuna on ESPN+'s State of Boxing show that was live streamed last week and offered his insight on the fight and his future plans for 2023:
“All he’s trying to do is survive in there and try not to get knocked out. People are going to speak on whatever they want to speak on. I’m fighting for a world title next. I’m trying to come back in April and have three fights next year. So, I look forward to becoming a unified world champion by the end of [next] year at 140.”
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The 25-year-old boxer also spoke about his method of fighting and his opponent's behavior in the ring during their junior welterweight bout:
“Every person that has tried to come and fight me have all been hurt and dropped. Each person. Anyone that boxes us we find different ways to beat them, absolutely. What Sandor Martin did was not boxing either. All he did was run.”
Teofimo Lopez vs. Sandor Martin
The former 135-pound undisputed champion took on Spanish 140-pound contender Sandor Martin on December 10 at Madison Square Garden, New York. Lopez put pressure on Martin from the outset, closing the distance and throwing more shots in the early rounds. The Spaniard had to take on a counter puncher’s approach, which interestingly resulted in him knocking down Lopez in Round 2.
The Top Rank fighter outpunched Martin in all of the first four rounds, with the tally of punches landed being 33-26. 'The Takeover’ landed some strong right hooks at the end of his combinations, leaving extensive damage to Martin's face. The Brooklyn-born fighter was down again in Round 7 due to another strong counter punch from Martin, but it was ruled a slip.
The fight was more of the same in the latter rounds, with Lopez pushing the pace and Martin trying to find an opening. The fight ended in a split-decision victory on the judges' scorecards for Teofimo Lopez. Two of the judges scored the bout 96-93 and 97-92 for Lopez, while the third had it 95-94 for Martin.
Check out the fight highlights below:
