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New lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez has revealed what the atmosphere was like after he beat Vasyl Lomachenko. The undefeated fighter compared it to a funeral and called the post-fight mood ‘dead.’ However, he got approval from Mike Tyson because of this.

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Lopez went into the fight against the former pound-for-pound number 1 as a huge underdog. He took the fight no one wanted and still delivered. He out-boxed the Ukrainian to claim all the lightweight belts except for one.

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Speaking to legendary boxer Mike Tyson on his podcast ‘Hotboxin with Mike Tyson’, Lopez gave his account of the situation. He said, “It was like a funeral, Mike. It was like, everybody just quiet. It was like, Dead. They didn’t want to acknowledge the…”

The pair were talking about how it felt to beat a heavily favored opponent. And these comments from Lopez showed just how much experts sided with Lomachenko. The 16-0 fighter had previously also explained how ‘Loma’ and his team disrespected him before the fight.

READ: Canelo Alvarez’s Tattoos: What Do They Mean?

Teofimo Lopez receives validation from Mike Tyson

The undefeated fighter then got a seal of approval from the man himself. Tyson said, “This is how you do this. This is how the game works. Now you take his mantle. The world’s greatest fighter. Probably of all time.”

‘Iron Mike’ was not talking about Lomachenko being the greatest of all time. Instead, he was referring to the concept of a lineal champion. He spoke about the honor of beating the man that beat the man. Which is the feeling that ‘The Takeover’ experienced with his victory over Lomachenko.

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Tyson himself has been the lineal heavyweight champion, and so he knows the emotion and feeling Lopez referred to. Moreover, even fans love an underdog story; we saw this when Andy Ruiz Jr. beat Anthony Joshua in their first fight.

However, unlike Ruiz Jr, Lopez can stay on top of the division since it was certainly not a fluke. This makes it even more impressive.

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What do you make of Teofimo Lopez’s comments about the atmosphere after the fight? Do you think it was that big a shock?

READ: 3 Best and Worst Fights From Mike Tyson’s Phenomenal Record

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