IBF champ Teofimo Lopez ‘can’t wait to put hands on’ Vasiliy Lomachenko

Ahead of their Oct. 17 lightweight clash for lightweight dominance, Teofimo Lopez addressed the media and spoke on his dislike of Lomachenko. 

Building hype for a boxing match is easy when the competitors don’t like each other. The tremendous athletic abilities of Teofimo Lopez and Vasiliy Lomachenko are enough to sell their fight, but the animosity between them helps.

Lopez (15-0, 12 KOs) and Lomachenko fight on Oct. 17 for control over the lightweight division. Lopez won the IBF title in December of 2019 when he spectacularly knocked out Richard Commey in two rounds. Now, Lopez has a shot at winning the two titles held by Lomachenko. Lopez wants all the belts, but he has a personal grudge going into this fight.

Sports Illustrated recently ran a story on the nature of the tainted relationship between Lopez and Lomachenko. Both were on the same card in Dec. 2018, and SI reports that Lopez’s father and trainer confronted Lomachenko.

“I just turned and around and said, ‘screw this guy,'” Lopez’s father said.

“And then, after that, we’re going to come and take your neck off.”

The incident went down less than two years ago, but the bad blood between Lopez and Lomachenko remains. During a recent press conference, Lopez discussed his feelings towards Lomachenko.

Will the bad blood between Teofimo Lopez and Vasiliy Lomachenko boil over into a brawl in the ring? Lopez certainly hopes so.

When asked why he doesn’t like Lomachenko, Lopez responded, “I have my reasons, but I see the way that Vasiliy Lomachenko carries himself outside of the sport.”

Lopez added, “I just never liked him.”

Lopez was also asked more about his dislike of Lomachenko, and he confirmed that his father did have a confrontation with Lomachenko in the past, supporting Sports Illustrated’s reporting.

“They had their own altercation in person,” said Lopez.

Lomachenko (14-1, 10 KOs) is widely regarded as one of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world. The two-time Olympic gold medalist owns the WBA and WBO lightweight titles. The Ukrainian born southpaw champion is known for his slick boxing and fast hands.

Lomachenko is the betting favorite according to Oddsshark.com, but at 32 years old, he has a disadvantage in terms of youth. Lopez is a fresh 23 years old.

Lopez vs. Lomachenko might be the most competitive fight of the year on paper, and Lopez seems confident and determined to further establish his name by defeating Lomachenko.

“Come Oct. 17, I can’t wait to put hands on this man,” said Lopez.

We’ll see if Lopez can carry out his fearless words.

Teofimo Lopez vs. Vasiliy Lomachenko goes down on Saturday, Oct. 17, on ESPN and ESPN Deportes at 10 p.m. ET.