"He wasn't even 1% in that fight"- Teofimo Lopez's father breaks down his son's loss against George Kambosos Jr. 

Teofimo Lopez Sr. has finally spoken about the issues that Teofimo Lopez Jr. faced going into his first professional defeat. Lopez was the favorite to win the fight but ended up suffering a shocking defeat. at the hands of George Kambosos Jr.

Lopez Sr. spoke to ESNEWS and said:

“He’s coming back with a vengeance. I can see it because of what happened to him in that fight [against George Kambosos Jr.], he wasn’t even 1% in that fight because of his condition. “

Listen to the interview here:

Before the fight with George Kambosos Jr., Teofimo Lopez was on top of the world. ‘The Takeover’ had done what many thought was impossible, defeating Vasyl Lomachenko to become WBA, IBF, and WBO World Lightweight Champion. It was an impressive defeat for someone who entered the fight as an underdog.

Everything started to unravel when Teofimo Lopez was ordered to fight mandatory challenger George Kambosos. Lopez believed that he could make more money by leaving his promoter, Top Rank, and letting the fight go to purse bids. Triller won the purse bid paying $6 million to host the fight.

Triller, however, was unable to deliver the bout, going through multiple date changes before eventually defaulting. Triller lost the $1.2 million deposit they had paid for the fight, and Lopez lost time and momentum.

Eddie Hearn, the man with the second highest purse bid, eventually hosted the contest. George Kambosos Jr. ended up defeating Lopez, who suffered a surprising split-decision defeat.

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Teofimo Lopez was suffering from a life-threatening illness during the fight.

Lopez suffered from pneumomediastinum during the fight with Kambosos. This medical condition is gravely serious, and Lopez could have very easily suffered a lung collapse during the bout. Doctors said that Teofimo Lopez is lucky to be alive after competing in a boxing match with the condition.

Watch a doctor explain the situation:

Lopez Sr. said:

“What else do you guys want? The doctors came and said what was wrong with him. Nobody in the world could have gone twelve rounds. He should have been in an ICU. We almost lost him, he was in ICU for five days. The oxygen levels weren't going up. You know, that was the worst week of my life. I'm done with that, and let's move forward”

Lopez knew he was feeling unwell but did not want the bout to face another postponement. He also believed that it was just asthma, as opposed to the much more serious pneumomediastinum. Only after the fight was the true condition revealed.

Now ‘The Takeover’ will be hoping to return to the top of boxing. Lopez will be competing in the super welterweight division that has recently been dominated by Josh Taylor.