It seems as though Teofimo Lopez walks into a room believing he’s the smartest one in it. His words may come across as bombastic but his actions once the bell rings often indicate that he’s one of the best fighters in the world.
Lopez’s hubris-filled attitude has led him to believe that even the likes of pound-for-pound star, Terence Crawford, wouldn’t stand much of a chance. Lopez (20-1, 13 KOs) is good enough with his words to elicit a response from most but whenever Gervonta Davis’ name is mentioned, it’s crickets. There are only 24 hours in a day and Davis isn’t willing to share any of them focusing on Lopez. He did though, just watch him fight.
Lopez headlined a rare Thursday card in Las Vegas against Jamaine Ortiz. Davis, from his palatial estate, turned on his television and figured why not tune in? Once he did, he couldn’t help but laugh.
Ortiz was on his A game. The previous threats he dished out, warning Lopez of a violent knockout, were all just smoke and mirrors. He boxed and moved, drawing out frustrated sighs from Lopez as he continued to hit nothing but air. As the rounds ticked by, Ortiz ostensibly kept pushing all the right buttons. He brawled in spurts but spent most of his time letting Lopez take the lead.
By the time the final bell rang, there was a belief permeating through the arena that an upset had just taken place. Unfortunately for Ortiz, however, all three judges sitting ringside weren’t convinced that he did enough.
Tears ran down Lopez’s cheek as he began patting himself on the back. Still, it might’ve been another win but Davis wasn’t impressed. For now, he will stroll around with his WBO and Ring Magazine super lightweight titles strapped to his waist but if there’s ever a time when he does face Davis, the 29-year-old will have his knife and fork ready.
“Food,” wrote Davis on his social media account. “Food.”