Is Teofimo Lopez Coming Apart Under Racial Pressure?
Come this May 25, WBO super lightweight champion Teofimo “The Takeover” Lopez (21-1, 13 KO’s) will face eager challenger Arnold Barboza Jr. (32-0, 11KO) Before he slides through the ropes however, Lopez will first continue to battle various fans, fellow boxers and the media about his questionable decision to willingly paint himself as a happy bigot.
Supposedly in an effort to secure a fight with either Gervonta Davis or Terence Crawford, The Takeover very famously said he’d fight “whichever monkey wanted the banana.” This is obviously a play on racial stereotypes that have flourished in this country, and around the globe, for more than a 100 years.
Initially Lopez owned his actions and words. He stated that he was aware of the stigma and wanted to shake things up by promoting like boxing used to be. To date, The Takeover has yet to provide one single example of this brand of promotion.
IGNORANCE IS NO DEFENSE
Unfortunately for him, virtually no one is taking this matter as carefree as he is. As of late, Lopez is routinely lambasted in his own comment social media sections. He also has been publicly checked and embarrassed by Terence Crawford as well as various media members who have been on his neck all week about his comments.
Shamefully, rather than continue to stand firm on the issue, Lopez has backpedaled quicker than a prime Michael Jackson in concert. The pushback has been so extreme that Lopez is doing an extremely poor job of switching horses mid-race. Now, Lopez is arguing that his racist comments aren’t racist because he was only talking about two specific people.
This would be akin to saying, “whichever fruit-picker wants the taco first”, then acting shocked if Latin folks in general got upset. Pure nonsense. Clearly, Lopez is having trouble navigating the “race” portion of the equation.
A CRUCIAL CROSSROADS
The question now becomes: how big of a distraction will this become for his upcoming duel with Barboza? Despite being cemented as a boxing heel, The Takeover appears to want to be loved by the fans. Being labeled as the Bull Connor of boxing does not seem like it will sit well with Lopez.
So it will be very interesting to see how Lopez is treated and reacts in public going forward. It will also be very telling to witness The Takeover’s performance come fight night. Especially given his rather rocky outings as of late. In against a dangerous, hungry adversary like Barboza, a distracted Teofimo Lopez just could be heading toward a perfect storm!
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