Vasiliy Lomachenko admitted that Teofimo Lopez Jr.'s badmouthing of the Ukrainian has done a great job of bringing more attention to their big lightweight unification showdown on Oct. 17 — but says the fun and games end when the bell rings.
Lopez (15-0, 12 KOs), who wagers his IBF title against the WBA, WBO and The Ring versions held by Lomachenko (14-1, 10 KOs), has been verbally targeting his upcoming opponent long before they finally put pen to paper to do battle in Las Vegas inside the MGM Grand "bubble".
The unbeaten American said recently that "he has his reasons" to dislike Lomachenko so much, alluding to things that have taken place behind the scenes, away from the public eye.
However Lomachenko discussed the lightweight superfight during Part 1 of the two-part preview series “Blood, Sweat and Tears: Lomachenko vs. Lopez”, which broadcast Sunday on ESPN.
“I want to say big thank you to Teofimo and his father, they promote our fight," said Lomachenko. “I don’t need to do any small talking.
“You can’t just talk, talk and talk,” he continued. “In my country, we have different rules. If we were back in my country, he would learn pretty quickly that he can't run his mouth like that.
"As I said before, if you say you’re going do something you bave to back it up.
“I’m definitely not going to feel sorry for him. If I have the chance to cause him pain, I’m going to do it.”
The Olympic champion's name has been on Lopez's lips ever since he was named 2018 Prospect Of The Year by The Ring Magazine. But Lomachenko's team have their own theories as to what's behind the lengthy trash-talking.“He is jealous of how much attention Loma gets from people and he wants to get it,” claims Egis Klimas, Lomachenko’s career-long manager. “I think Teofimo Lopez will learn his lesson. I don’t think he realizes what he is walking into.”
Bob Arum recently revealed that 250 fans would attend the highly-anticipated fight, with Nevada laws allowing that many spectators to attend a show as they attempt to ease out of the coronavirus lockdown.
The small number of seats will not go on sale, but will be distributed to sponsors and local first responders.