After silencing his doubters on Saturday night with a brilliant performance to win the WBO junior welterweight title from Josh Taylor, Teofimo Lopez is claiming he is retired. Lopez first told assembled media about the possibility of retirement during post-fight interviews and followed up with a post on Instagram.
"What a relief! Retired at the Top," Lopez wrote in the post, which featured a picture of him as a child with his father. "Thank you Boxing for the amazing life you've provided for myself and my entire loved ones! THE DOUBLE-GREATEST."
For years, Lopez, 25, has displayed erratic behavior, increasing after his shocking upset loss to George Kambosos Jr., which cost Lopez his status as unified lightweight champion. For that reason alone, many will question the sincerity of Lopez's retirement claims, especially in the immediate wake of the bout with Taylor.
Lopez entered the ring for Saturday's fight as an underdog after a trio of uninspiring performances and facing a bigger, stronger fighter in Taylor.
As he'd done when he was an underdog in his 2020 bout with then-unified lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko, Lopez turned in a fantastic effort, dominating the fight with speed and angles that left Taylor befuddled.
Lopez has been battling complicated situations outside the ring, including turmoil with his family and a contentious divorce and custody battle. That may have been the main catalyst for his statements to reporters after his win.
"I might retire after this one," Lopez said. "Retirement man. I'm kind of tired. I'm not getting paid enough. A million dollars? Get the f--- out of here. I need to take a break, I'm tired of everyone bullying me. I'm young, I'm a kid at heart. I think y'all need to go after the Devin Haneys, Shakur [Stevensons], the Tyson Furys and all that."
