THE FACE OF BOXING Teofimo Lopez Sr. and Jr. Photographs by Wojtek Urbanek • Text by Thomas Hauser
Pedro Campa, Sandor Martin, Jamaine Ortiz and Steve Claggett. Teofimo is currently the WBO and Ring 140-pound champion by virtue of his victory over Taylor. But his personal life has been tumultuous. He got married, had a son, and has had to deal with marital strife. He talked openly about suicide. Too often, he has avoided going in tough in the ring and sometimes has not gone in at all. He has quarreled incessantly with Top Rank (which did a good job of building him as a fighter). Throughout his ring career, Teofimo has been trained by his father. While the bond between father and son is strong, there have been rough patches between them. At the annual Boxing Writers Association of America dinner earlier this year, Teofimo Jr. posed for Wojtek Urbanek. Then his father was invited to join the photo session. The image that resulted (opposite page) is evocative of The Godfather or a father preparing his son for war.
Four years ago, Teofimo Lopez Jr. was a rising star in the boxing world. He had beaten Vasiliy Lomachenko to unify the IBF, WBA, WBO and Ring Magazine lightweight titles and was near the top of most pound-for-pound rankings. A poll of 40 industry experts published in The Ring labeled him a clear favorite over Gervonta Davis, Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia and (should there be a rematch) Lomachenko. Teofimo couldn’t match their social media followings. But once the bell rings, Instagram followers can’t fight. “Teofimo is riding high right now,” one voter responded. “And his size gives him an edge.” “Teofimo might not be as good as we think he is,” said another. “Or maybe he’s better.” The sky was the limit. Then Lopez faltered. He lost a decision to 9-to-1 underdog George Kambosos Jr. A victory over Josh Taylor was sandwiched between desultory wins against
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