Teofimo Lopez: ‘You have to truly believe this was meant for me and only for me’

Teofimo Lopez

THERE is a tattoo etched on Teรณfimo Lรณpezโ€™s forearm. โ€˜Be water, my friendโ€™ the thin words read. The phrase come from Bruce Lee. โ€œEmpty your mind. Be formless, shapeless, like water. You put water into a cup, it becomes the cup,โ€ the legendary martial artist originally said. โ€œYou put it into a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.โ€ Itโ€™s a mantra that Lรณpez, who thinks seriously about his style of fighting and his approach to the form, uses to inspire him.

โ€œWe all are a work of art. Thatโ€™s 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€œ[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.

โ€œIt takes a lot of courage and that takes a lot of wisdom and thatโ€™s 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. โ€œThatโ€™s when you know youโ€™re living. When youโ€™re learning.

โ€œComfort zone is a beautiful place but nothing ever grows there. Youโ€™ve 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. Thatโ€™s something he needs. โ€œYou have to have it with you. Either you build it and you have it and you were meant for it, or you donโ€™t. 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 oneโ€™s going to take this away from me. That was the difference maker. It didnโ€™t come off of just getting lucky or getting by. I had to do the things that 99 percent arenโ€™t willing to do to be in that one percent club. Now that Iโ€™m there, itโ€™s all about maintaining but working even harder to stay in that one per cent club,โ€ he said. โ€œI 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€

Thatโ€™s a quality Lรณpez identifies with. โ€œIโ€™m always angry. Rage. I have a lot of rage. Itโ€™s just youโ€™ve got to maintain it, youโ€™ve got to know how to balance it. Balance is the toughest thing to accomplish in life,โ€ he said. โ€œNow Iโ€™m just learning little by little as I mature and as I get older, how to handle it better.

โ€œI donโ€™t want to live by what if. I donโ€™t 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€

Thereโ€™s another quality that he puts his rise down to, the one he finds hardest. Trust. โ€œI have to have a lot of trust. When you take a route that 99% arenโ€™t willing to take, that takes a lot of trust. A lot of trust in yourself,โ€ he said. โ€œYou have to have a lot of trust in everything that youโ€™re going through, itโ€™s supposed to happen the way it needs to, to take you where you need to go in your journey. Thatโ€™s really it. Trust, love, faith, hope and understanding.โ€

teofimo lopez
Mikey Williams/Top Rank

Heโ€™s 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 itโ€™s been taken on by promoters Matchroom and set for November 27 on DAZN. A long wait.

โ€œMaybe itโ€™s teaching me more patience. Maybe this is teaching me to continue on and not ever be sidetracked by anything thatโ€™s in my way. Thatโ€™s how I took it,โ€ he said. โ€œIf anything I turned that frustration into positivity and it gave me more work ethic. Iโ€™m training hard for this. Iโ€™m looking forward to it. Iโ€™m being more cautious and careful. But I can only do so much. Iโ€™m vaccinated now. I have the antibodies from Covid. So there shouldnโ€™t be no delay, there shouldnโ€™t be no postponements.

โ€œItโ€™s crunch time. Now is the time I turn from mentally being strong to everything else coming together,โ€ he added. โ€œKambosos is a strong fighter, comes forward, is willing to take what he has to to get to where he needs to get to. However theyโ€™re not on the frequency that Iโ€™m in. Theyโ€™re not even close to that frequency that Iโ€™m at. Itโ€™s a lot of work that I have to do but Iโ€™m willing to do it. What Iโ€™ve done and gone through would probably kill those guys. Thatโ€™s the difference maker in this fight. Iโ€™m not overlooking him. I never overlook the fighters that Iโ€™m facing because thatโ€™s the person that could take all this away from me and I could be forgotten. Iโ€™m not looking past him, Iโ€™m not overlooking him, Iโ€™m looking through him. Thereโ€™s a difference and thatโ€™s my mentality. Put them in front of me and Iโ€™ll go right through them.โ€

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