THERE is a tattoo etched on Teรณfimo Lรณpezโs forearm. โBe water, my friendโ the thin words read. The phrase come from Bruce Lee. โEmpty your mind. Be formless, shapeless, like water. You put water into a cup, it becomes the cup,โ the legendary martial artist originally said. โYou put it into a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.โ Itโs a mantra that Lรณpez, who thinks seriously about his style of fighting and his approach to the form, uses to inspire him.
โWe all are a work of art. Thatโs what it is. We all are a work of art in different ways and my art is something that I will show throughout these years,โ Lรณpez said. โ[Bruce Lee] was someone that understood the fundamentals of life, understood how to balance things but worked so hard to do it. Wanted to put everything into his own arsenal, went against his own tribe, his own mentors, his master.
โIt takes a lot of courage and that takes a lot of wisdom and thatโs why when I read those quotes of his, I grab it so much because I understand it. As I get older I will understand more because we never stop growing. We never stop growing,โ he continued. โThatโs when you know youโre living. When youโre learning.
โComfort zone is a beautiful place but nothing ever grows there. Youโve always got to be uncomfortable.โ
Lรณpez has excelled. In beating Vasiliy Lomachenko last year he became the lightweight world champion. He carries himself with a particular confidence. Thatโs something he needs. โYou have to have it with you. Either you build it and you have it and you were meant for it, or you donโt. Through trials and tribulations, through believing in myself, you have to believe. You have to truly believe like this was meant for me and only for me. No oneโs going to take this away from me. That was the difference maker. It didnโt come off of just getting lucky or getting by. I had to do the things that 99 percent arenโt willing to do to be in that one percent club. Now that Iโm there, itโs all about maintaining but working even harder to stay in that one per cent club,โ he said. โI learned my confidence through the greats like Ali, through the greats like Joe Louis, through the greats like Floyd Patterson, I mean the list could go on and on, Tyson. His confidence when he was there, that rage, he was angry. He knew what he wanted. He wanted to hurt these fighters.โ
Thatโs a quality Lรณpez identifies with. โIโm always angry. Rage. I have a lot of rage. Itโs just youโve got to maintain it, youโve got to know how to balance it. Balance is the toughest thing to accomplish in life,โ he said. โNow Iโm just learning little by little as I mature and as I get older, how to handle it better.
โI donโt want to live by what if. I donโt want live by should have, could have, would have. I want to live by I did exactly what I was destined to do and how I needed to do it, and that comes with just being patient. That comes with understanding and staying humble throughout the course.โ
Thereโs another quality that he puts his rise down to, the one he finds hardest. Trust. โI have to have a lot of trust. When you take a route that 99% arenโt willing to take, that takes a lot of trust. A lot of trust in yourself,โ he said. โYou have to have a lot of trust in everything that youโre going through, itโs supposed to happen the way it needs to, to take you where you need to go in your journey. Thatโs really it. Trust, love, faith, hope and understanding.โ
Heโs had to wait for his next fight, his defence against George Kambosos was originally picked up by Triller, who failed to put the event together. Now itโs been taken on by promoters Matchroom and set for November 27 on DAZN. A long wait.
โMaybe itโs teaching me more patience. Maybe this is teaching me to continue on and not ever be sidetracked by anything thatโs in my way. Thatโs how I took it,โ he said. โIf anything I turned that frustration into positivity and it gave me more work ethic. Iโm training hard for this. Iโm looking forward to it. Iโm being more cautious and careful. But I can only do so much. Iโm vaccinated now. I have the antibodies from Covid. So there shouldnโt be no delay, there shouldnโt be no postponements.
โItโs crunch time. Now is the time I turn from mentally being strong to everything else coming together,โ he added. โKambosos is a strong fighter, comes forward, is willing to take what he has to to get to where he needs to get to. However theyโre not on the frequency that Iโm in. Theyโre not even close to that frequency that Iโm at. Itโs a lot of work that I have to do but Iโm willing to do it. What Iโve done and gone through would probably kill those guys. Thatโs the difference maker in this fight. Iโm not overlooking him. I never overlook the fighters that Iโm facing because thatโs the person that could take all this away from me and I could be forgotten. Iโm not looking past him, Iโm not overlooking him, Iโm looking through him. Thereโs a difference and thatโs my mentality. Put them in front of me and Iโll go right through them.โ