Invincibility in boxing is universally coveted but is a near impossibility, with Floyd Mayweather and Andre Ward amongst the very few great champions who managed to retire without a blot on their professional records.
Recently crowned two weight world champion, Teofimo Lopez, has already swallowed the bitter pill of defeat, however believes the fights he’s had since losing out to George Kambosos Jr in 2021 have given him the know how to avoid it ever occurring again.
He explained in a recent interview with Fight Hub, that the only person who could beat him was himself.
“I faced a skilled fighter who comes forward in Josh Taylor, a technician who goes forwards and backwards in Lomachenko, and a fighter who only goes all the way back in Sandor Martin.
I’ve fought the only three kinds of fighters you can generate in the sport of boxing. So who is going to beat me? No one!”
Me myself, that is the only one who can beat me.”
Whether or not he’s making reference to the struggles outside of the ring he’s had, and how they may affect performances, wasn’t clear.
Lopez looked fully back to his old self against Josh Taylor at the Madison Square Garden theatre earlier this month, and was rewarded with the previously undefeated Scot’s WBO world super lightweight title.
Although ‘The Takeover’ surprisingly announced his retirement after the win and even vacated the world title, there is a sense amongst fans that a return to the ring is inevitable, with the man himself already admitting he would come back for the right fights and, more importantly, the right money.
Amongst those potential bouts are the likes of Devin Haney and Gervonta Davis, who have recently established themselves as up there with the biggest names in boxing and with whom Lopez has had a long term rivalry.