Of all the fights planned for this weekend in charge of boxing, Friday’s shock between Teofimo Lopez and Arnold Barboza Jr. can be the most intriguing. Lopez will defend his WBO Junior Welterweight championship against Barboza, which is on an impressive series of success when the two squares in Times Square in New York (6 p.m. he, Dazn PPV – Buy now).
To hear Barboza saying, Lopez has pushed their fight for too long and is now faced with a much more dangerous version of Barboza. His confidence is easy to understand. Last September, Barboza won the biggest victory for his career at this point, winning a victory over the former unified Welters Junior weight champion Jose Ramirez. He then followed this with an even more important victory, deciding Jack Catterall in February.
“I feel like a perspective that fights again every two months,” said Barboza in an interview with The Ring. “But I stay busy with big fights and it’s the worst time for him to fight me. He should have fought me when I was begged the fight four years ago. I think he had a better chance. But I found the recipe now, and the train goes and we don’t stop.”
Lopez is a complicated combatant to understand. Every day, he can look like one of the most dynamic fighters in the world or give a disappointing and apathetic performance against an opponent he should overwhelm.
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After having become unified light champion with light weights with an impressive 2020 victory against Vasiliy Lomachenko, Lopez abandoned his next fight against the George Kambosos Jr.
Two fights after the defeat of Kambosos, Lopez made a very controversial decision on Sandor Martin. Lopez then dominated Josh Taylor before winning a controversial decision on Jamaine Ortiz.
Lopez’s uneven performance has been suppressed to many things. He has a volatile relationship with his family, including his father, who continues to work in the corner of Lopez. Sometimes Lopez seems disinterested in boxing and claimed to retire – or be on the point of retirement – several times. These mental problems have even arisen in situations like the loss against Kambosos, which Lopez said that he was stolen following boxing policy, despite that he has clearly lost the fight, and that the promoters involved would obviously prefer that their fighter on the other side remain undefeated with three world titles.
Despite all that, Lopez is an extremely talented fighter capable of beating anyone one day. Lopez expects this talent to shine on Friday.
“I am just grateful and grateful to be here with everyone and show you the third version of Teofimo Lopez that you have not yet seen,” said Lopez at the final press conference. “Get your LE DAZN à la carte salary. Friday evening. You don’t want to miss it. I’m the type of fighter who does everything and anything. I can’t wait to express it on Friday evening.”
Let’s take a look at how you can take action on Friday before going to a choice of prediction and expert below.
Where to watch Lopez vs Barboza
- Date: May 2 | Location: Times Square, New York
- Start time: 6 p.m. he (main map)
- How to look: DAZN PPV (Buy now)
- Prip PPV: $ 59.99 (Get a reduced rate when buying the Friday card and the card on Saturday)
- Odds: Lopez -286 against Barboza +205
Prediction Lopez vs Barboza, Pick
Looks like each Lopez fight comes down to the same thing: what version of Teofimo appears this time? Barboza is a good fighter, with a fair argument as a superior man in the division despite not having a world title. Barboza also spent years pursuing a Lopez fight which did not materialize when the two fought under the first -row banner. It took Barboza by leaving the first row and winning the WBO temporary belt to force Lopez in the fight, and Barboza expresses a lot of confidence that he will make the opportunity.
Despite Barboza’s skills, Lopez is probably the best fighter, and he is a favorite for this reason. But will Lopez fall into the same old traps with his mental game? Will he fight if Barboza does not move forward, as he did against men like Martin and Ortiz? Lopez showed an inability to effectively cut the ring against these fighters, then complained after the fight that he could not effectively fight if an opponent “ran” from him.
There are a lot of intrigue in the fight and a large part comes down to knowing whether or not Lopez behaves with his capacities. For a prediction, we will assume that side A is able to do the best job on 12 laps to win a close decision victory. Pick: Teofimo Lopez via SD
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