The physical toll of the fight was obvious. Lopez appeared marked up and emotionally exposed as he spoke, and there was no attempt to mask how deeply the loss affected him. This was not a fighter deflecting blame or rushing toward the next chapter. He lingered on the disappointment, repeating variations of the same thought, and the tone never shifted toward reassurance.
“For me, it’s healing this cut and getting back to the drawing board. See if I move up and see what we do next,” Teofimo Lopez said while addressing reporters after the fight. When asked whether he could take positives from the performance, his response was immediate and raw. “No, not at all. I hate myself for it. It’s part of life. I don’t appreciate it. I think I get butchered. I’m just a punching bag to that.”
That admission stood apart from the usual post-fight language. Fighters often speak about disappointment or frustration, but Lopez went further, turning the criticism inward without hesitation. There was no attempt to soften the wording or redirect the focus. He sat with it, letting the discomfort linger rather than rushing past it.
The idea of moving up in weight surfaced again only loosely, without detail or urgency. Lopez has already looked less explosive since leaving 135 in 2021, and another move upward sounded less like ambition than distance. It was framed as something to consider, not something he believed in, and it did little to steady the tone of the moment.
“I just never got my fair share,” Lopez continued. “We’ll be back in some way, some form. I didn’t fight too hard, and I got the decision that we got. I pray that you all support me after this.” It did not sound like a fighter outlining his next move. It sounded like someone grappling with a version of himself he did not recognize and was not ready to forgive yet.
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