Teofimo Lopez Gives Flowers to His Father, Wilder-Helenius on Tap and More
Ten rounds while hoping recent reports about a Terence Crawford–Errol Spence deal are accurate …
10. The Takeover becomes the Takeback on Saturday, or so Teofimo Lopez has branded his ring return. Lopez—last seen on the losing end of a grueling fight with George Kambosos, a loss that cost him his 135-pound titles—will make the jump to 140 pounds Saturday when he takes on Pedro Campa.
When I spoke to Lopez earlier this week, and he was in good spirits—a stark contrast to the mind frame he was in before the fight with Kambosos. Back then Lopez was dealing with multiple issues. In the ring, his decision to part ways with the nutritionists who helped him leading into his win over Vasyl Lomachenko had hurt his weight cut. Outside the ring, his well-publicized split with his wife—who had just given birth to Lopez’s first child—weighed on him.
“Everything happens for a reason,” Lopez says. “God works in mysterious ways, and I love it. I'm truly grateful for the journey that I'm actually going through right now. It's great to fail because enduring those times is when you really get to know yourself more, you get to know how bad you really want it. Does it break you or does it make you? And I can't really wait to honestly showcase that to everyone.”
In the aftermath of the loss to Kambosos, some wondered if Lopez, 25, would make any changes, specifically in his corner, where his father, Lopez Sr., has been his trainer. Lopez says the answer to that is an emphatic no.
"It’s a dynamic duo, man,” Lopez says. “Until the wheels fall off, me and my father. I had so many people call me and text me afterwards. I mean, people that smiled in front of my father’s face, and gave him a pat on the back and say, ‘Hey, you should leave him and come to our side.’ And I’m like, I don't want to be rude and say that I know everything because I don’t; I still learn. I’m still learning to this day. And that’s the greatest thing that I could say about life and what I do with my craft.
“My father though is the one that knows me best. He’s seen me at my worst. He’s seen me at my best, and he’s going to be the one that definitely is going to tell me the things that I really need to focus on, how can I beat the guy in front of me. I trust him. I trust him with my life. I didn't even want, I didn't need or want an assistant coach for this fight. We had talks of other people that wanted to come in and maybe do some collaborations with that would have caught more eyes. However, I'm someone that is loyal to the T. And I just want everyone to see that my father didn't become Trainer of the Year just by luck. ... We beat the most decorated fighter pound-fo-pound during that time in Lomachenko. That was from him. He told me how the game plan had to go. So I just really want to give my father his flowers, especially for this fight and let it be known to everyone out there that man is always going to be in my corner. And if anyone got something to say about it, you can meet me. You can meet me in that ring.”
9. Robert Helenius is the perfect comeback opponent for Deontay Wilder. Helenius has credibility following back-to-back wins over Adam Kownacki. He’s also chinny, with knockout losses to Johann Duhaupas and Gerald Washington. Wilder should mow down the 38-year-old Helenius. If he doesn’t, Wilder, 36, will know he can no longer compete at the top level. Wilder-Helenius is tentatively ticketed for Oct. 15 on Fox Sports pay-per-view.
8. Keith Thurman, the former welterweight titleholder, declared earlier this month that he was a Hall of Fame fighter. Thurman added that Danny Garcia, a two-division world champion, had done enough to punch his ticket to the Hall, too. Appearing this week on the YouTube show Cigar Talk, Adrien Broner said no matter what happens for the rest of his career, he is headed for Canastota.
“I know that I’m going to the Hall of Fame, bro,” Broner said. “If I don’t ever fight again, I know I’m going to the Hall of Fame. 100%.”
Broner has had a nice career. He’s officially a four-division titleholder, having grabbed belts between 130 and 147 pounds. But his résumé is thin. His best win was probably a knockout of Antonio DeMarco in 2012. He has fought four times at the highest level—against Marcos Maidana, Shawn Porter, Mikey Garcia and Manny Pacquiao—and lost each time.
Thurman and Garcia aren’t Hall of Famers yet either. Garcia was on a Hall of Fame track at 140 pounds, when he collected wins over Lucas Matthysse, Amir Khan and Zab Judah. But while he competed against several of the top fighters at welterweight, he went 0–3 against Thurman, Porter and Errol Spence. Thurman had a strong two-plus year run at 147 pounds, but he lost his title to Manny Pacquiao in 2019 and has one win since.
This isn’t throwing shade. Thurman, Garcia and Broner are still young enough to piece together careers worthy of the Hall of Fame. PBC is loaded at the 147- and 154-pound weight classes. There are some terrific fights to be made for all three. Garcia has even called for a rematch with Thurman. But each need a few more significant wins to truly qualify.
7. Kudos to the WBA for doing the right thing and ordering what should be an excellent fight with Dmitry Bivol set to defend his 175-pound title against Gilberto Ramirez. Bivol has not had a mandatory title defense in four years. Meanwhile, Ramirez has won two eliminators to put himself in this position. This fight is far from done—Golden Boy, which represents Ramirez, and Matchroom, which works closely with Bivol, will have to find the money to satisfy both fighters.
6. Tyson Fury isn’t facing anyone—not Derek Chisora, not Hafþór Björnsson, not anyone, no matter what he says—until after Aug. 20, when Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua square off. If Joshua wins, a Fury-Joshua fight represents one of the most lucrative in boxing history. If Usyk wins, Fury still stands to make a pile of money in an attempt to become undisputed heavyweight champion.
5. Eddie Hearn insists he isn’t cashing out Conor Benn in this recently announced Benn-Chris Eubank Jr. fight, which will take place at a catchweight of 157 pounds on Oct. 8. Benn and Eubank–the progeny of Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank Sr., former British boxing stars who memorably fought twice in the early 1990s—will do big business in the U.K. But Benn, 25, is an untested welterweight. Eubank, 32, is a full-fledged middleweight who has campaigned at 168 pounds. Benn has legitimate power at 147. But Eubank has a sturdy chin and legitimate power, the kind Benn has not faced to this point. Benn is a rising star at welterweight, but asking him to move up to face Eubank feels like too tall a task. If Benn gets battered, how easy will it be for him to drop back down to 147 and resume his career?
4. In a recent interview, Showtime Sports czar Stephen Espinoza poured cold water on an oft-discussed middleweight title unification fight between Jermall Charlo and Demetrius Andrade, saying, “I don’t hear anybody, except for a very few notable people, who are pushing for Charlo-Andrade.” Just say my name, Stephen.
3. Injury updates: I’m told the broken hand MJ Akhmadaliev suffered early in a knockout win over Ronny Rios is significant. Akhmadaliev, who holds two belts in the 122-pound division, is not planning on surgery but the required healing time will likely keep him out for the remainder of the year. Meanwhile, rising welterweight contender Alexis Rocha has a torn tendon in his right hand. Rocha told SI he will wear a soft cast for about a month but is expected to make a full recovery.
2. The WBA’s decision to strip Juan Francisco Estrada of his “super” champion status is good news for Joshua Franco, who becomes the sanctioning body’s lone titleholder at 115 pounds. That’s two belts in the family for Franco, whose brother, Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, owns the WBC title. The new status should create some options for Franco. Kazuto Ioka has the WBO belt. That’s a make-able fight. Fernando Martinez, the IBF titleholder, is ticketed for a rematch with Jerwin Ancajas in October and could be available after. Rodriguez, who will get a showcase fight on the Canelo Alvarez-Gennadiy Golovkin undercard in October, will be free to pursue the winner of the trilogy fight between Estrada and Roman Gonzalez, tentatively scheduled for early December.
1. Don’t get too worked up over Ryan Garcia’s recent phone call to Maxi Hughes. Yes, Garcia called Hughes to discuss a potential fight but not because Garcia is punting on a chance to fight Davis. Garcia, who has fought twice in the last four months following a 15-month layoff, has hoped to stay active, believing he could squeeze in a fight before facing Davis. That won’t happen, as Garcia’s representatives continue to explore ways to make a Garcia-Davis deal work. Here’s hoping it does.
