Don’t mess with Teofimo Lopez’s attire; you might get a slap in the face.
The bad blood between Teofimo Lopez and Arnold Barboza Jr. is ramping up ahead of their clash at Fatal Fury: Times Square on May 2nd. On the second leg of their worldwide promotional tour, tensions between Lopez and Barboza resulted in a physical altercation during a press conference faceoff in Los Angeles.
Lopez will defend his WBO super lightweight title against Barboza in a highly anticipated world championship clash on the main card. The event is headlined by Ryan Garcia vs. Rolando Romero, featuring Devin Haney vs. Jose Ramirez as the co-main bout.
While Lopez vs. Barboza isn’t the main attraction on May 2nd, the two boxers stole the show at Monday’s press conference in Los Angeles. In a heated faceoff in which Barboza and Lopez both exchanged shoves, Lopez upped the ante by slapping Barboza in the face before security personnel separated the two sides.
Teofimo Lopez slapped Arnold Barboza in heated Los Angeles faceoff
During a media scrum with FightHype and other reporters, Lopez gave his immediate reaction to the fiery faceoff with Barboza.
“Listen man, it’s by law, you don’t touch nobody,” Lopez said of Barboza. “He touched my hat, me sombrero…so I had the right to hit him.”
As of this writing, Barboza hasn’t issued public comment on the Lopez slap. Either way, bad blood is boiling between the two future rivals.
The Lopez vs. Barboza press conference altercation adds fuel to the fire of what’s an unprecedented card on May 2nd. The event will take place in the middle of New York City’s Times Square, an outdoor venue pitched by Turki Alalshikh and Golden Boy Promotions.
Lopez returns to the ring on a five-fight winning streak since a split decision loss to George Kambosos Jr. in Nov. 2021. Meanwhile, Barboza looks to unify the WBO super lightweight titles after defeating Jack Catterall in February.
- READ MORE: Oscar De La Hoya warns Devin Haney he may ‘never recover’ from Ryan Garcia defeat as comeback looms
Teofimo Lopez vs. Arnold Barboza Jr. steals world tour spotlight ahead of May 2nd event
Barboza enters the Lopez fight on a 32-fight unbeaten streak to begin his professional career. He’s defeated the likes of Jose Ramirez, Jose Pedraza, and Alex Saucedo during his impressive run.
Lopez is looking to make a strong case for a big-name fight by defeating Barboza and unifying the WBO super lightweight titles. Rematches with the likes of Kambosos and Vasiliy Lomachenko and a potential clash with Haney are in the mix for later this year if he gets past Barboza.
In the meantime, Lopez vs. Barboza could be a ‘Fight of the Night’ frontrunner on May 2nd, and things are expected to escalate ahead of their clash in Times Square.
- READ MORE: Anthony Joshua fought in one of the greatest boxing rounds of all time against huge underdog