Greg Leon: Congrats on your recent victory over Edis Tatli, the European champion. Can you give us some thoughts on your performance? Teofimo Lopez:"Thank you Greg. I thought my performance could have been a lot better. My father told me detail by detail what we needed to do and we chopped the guy down. We had said before the fight that it wasn't going to go past six and it came true, and on top of that we knew it was going to be a body shot. It sounds crazy, but there's times that we know what's going to happen. With Mason Menard me and my father agreed it was going to be the seven, and look what happend, we knocked him out with the seven. It's just things that me and my father that I don't think any other trainer and fighter have. We know what's going to come and how to deal with it."

 

GL: It's a beautiful thing to have that chemistry with your blood.

 

Teofimo Lopez: "Yep. To have that with my father, somebody who I love, I mean it makes a big difference."

 

GL: You're rolling now brother, the snowflake is turning into an avalanche and the next downhill stop is Masayoshi Nakatani on July 19th. What do you know about this dude?

 

TL: "It's for the [IBF] title eliminator now. When I fought Edis Tatli that was supposed to be the eliminator, it was a twelve round fight, but this time around it's official for us to have the eliminator and then the winner of Richard Commey and whoever he fights next later this year."

 

GL: Do you know anything about Nakatani?

 

TL: "No, but my father does. I know he's tall and Japanese and is 18-0 with 12 KOs. He's got a good record and he's undefeated and I know he's coming to do what he wants to do, but I'm going to keep on stopping these guys. One by one we're going to beat who they put in front of us."

 

GL: Is it going to be difficult for you to focus on Nakatani when you know the title shot is right behind it?

 

TL: "Never difficult. I don't overlook anybody and this guy is literally that one step between me and the world title. We're taking this camp and everybody that we face seriously. After this we're the mandatory and if Richard Commey doesn't want to fight us he's going to have to give up the belt. This is it, this is the last fight before we become world champion."

 

GL: Do you plan on looking at Nakatani before the fight?

 

TL: "No. My father handles that."

 

GL: Did you look at Tatli?

 

TL: "Nope."

 

GL: I thought he could've gotten up from that body shot but he didn't want anymore smoke.

 

TL: "Nah, I don't think so. I caught him good with that one, but the reason people think that is because it wasn't a liver shot."

 

GL: Does Nakatani fall into the six rounds or less category?

 

Teofimo Lopez Sr: "Yes. And I see this one ending with a body shot too."

 

GL: If you take care of business in this fight, Commey would be the biggest puncher you've ever faced by far. Is that the final hurdle? Dealing a guy viewed as a puncher?

 

TLSR: "I think that's going to be easier than everybody else because he comes to fight and he stays in the pocket. He doesn't have the footwork, he's just a strong fighter, but he's just going to be a punching bag out there."

 

GL: Yo Fimo after Christmas you were looking to tie the knot in a year and a half. Four months later you're married. That love bug bit the shit out of you didn't it?

 

TL: "Yeah. It's just one of those things that I felt would change everything and it did. Now everything is back to being calm and we're getting back to business."

 

GL: Do you feel any different as a married man?

 

TL: "Not really, but it's just great to have someone and I don't need nobody else, that's really it."

 

GL: I thought this July bout would happen at the Garden. How do you feel about fighting in Maryland?

 

TL: "I did too, but things have been changing and they're very unpredictable right now. They pulled this out on us and we're still the main event, so that didn't change, but this is it man, this is the title eliminator."

 

GL: Closing thoughts.

 

TL: "Tune into my fight on July 19th on ESPN+. The Takeover continues!"