‘The Takeover’ continues, even as fire overwhelms the 140-pound division. Aside from the Ryan Garcia–Devin Haney controversy, the weight class witnessed a major setback. From the Down Under, Liam Paro secured an upset win over the boogeyman Subriel Matias. After the bland title defense against Jamaine Ortiz in February, Teofimo Lopez will enter the ring again next weekend. He will be facing Canadian Steve Claggett. The WBO light welterweight champion joined Danza and Kato on the set of their podcast, ‘The Danza Project’.

Over a two-and-a-half-hour-long discussion, he took the hosts through his preparation for the upcoming fight. Lopez also spoke about his career journey and the myriad difficulties and challenges he faced. But it’s often been observed. When the scope of a talk is so expansive, some of the sore points inadvertently get picked up while others slip by. The Teofimo Lopez chat proved no exception. As he narrated his life, the world champion found it difficult to let some of the unpleasant matters slide. One of his most significant disappointments was coming across a few famous names of his generation who, according to him, made Faustian bargain to get ahead in life.

Teofimo Lopez worries over peers’ unbridled quests

The conversation between the trio reached an interesting point when they started discussing the importance of failure as the blueprint for success instead. Lopez explained how, a lot of the time, it is not about money. Instead, it is about building lasting relationships. That goes a long way toward ushering you to the next level. To add to that, he elaborated on how, outside the ring, thanks to his clean image, he is being endorsed across the board. He shared how he has been receiving a lot of appreciation and acknowledgment outside the United States. He stressed that to reach this stage, it takes a lot of hard work and faith. But then there are a few standing on the opposite side of the bank.

“But I feel like people that sell their soul um you just want it quick,” he said. However, he quickly asked, why would ‘Lucifer’ seek a person’s soul? Pointing out that people really need to give the poser a thought, he explained that actually, he (Lucifer) doesn’t care. He said, “He does this on a constant level, bro; he gives you the cars; he gives you the money; he gives you the fame.” However, no one realizes that it all comes at a price.

According to ‘The Takeover,’ a person eventually ends up paying not only with his soul. But he also ends up sacrificing a lot of other things. Then Teofimo Lopez cited a few real-time examples. He said, “I’ve seen it with other fighters; I’ve seen it with other people that I grew up with in the amateurs, um, Tank and them; and it’s sad to see how they’ve turned around, but I get it. Part of me thinks about it like, um yeah, you’ve struggled, but you kind of quit when it got really, really hard.”

It may still not be clear to many fans what caused the Brooklyn-born boxer to tear into the worldview of some of his peers. However, it is also well known that Gervonta Davis and Teofimo Lopez share a history that goes back to their amateur days.

A back-and-forth history, but no common present

From the leaked footage of their sparring session to the rumored attempt to arrange a fight between them, and now Lopez finding his way back to Davis’ hit list, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge between the two. Interestingly, both remained in the same division for a long time. But despite that, all they could manage was to indulge in some shadowboxing.

Not sure whether the latest rant is ‘The Takeover’s endeavor to attract Tank’s attention, or whether he is setting the board for a big payday at a future date. Anyway, how will that play out? Whether Davis will be agreeable to climb up a division or whether he will follow his standard tactic and seek a catchweight fight with a rehydration clause. Will Teofimo Lopez concur with the different conditions or go back to 135 pounds? There are a lot of questions. However, answers to any of these may not be available, at least for now.

What’s your take on Teofimo Lopez’s statements? Why do you think he uttered those words?