Teofimo Lopez has made a retirement vow following his super-lightweight world title win against Josh Taylor.
Lopez, 25, handed Taylor his first professional loss as the American won a unanimous decision in their fight at Madison Square Garden's Hulu Theater in New York on Saturday night. Taylor did have some success early on in the bout but Lopez was in cruise control as the rounds went on with the scorecards 115-113, 115-113 and 117-111 in his favour after the final bell.
Fans were concerned for Lopez's well-being heading into the fight as he made a vulgar comment about wanting to kill Taylor in the ring.
The 25-year-old also clashed with his father in an explosive interview as Lopez was questioned about a comment in which he told Top Rank to "keep their black fighters". Just moments after his recent win, Lopez again raised the eyebrows of fans by insisting that he could hang up his gloves.
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“Now just to steer it up, I might retire after this one," Lopez told reporters. "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 Haney's, Shakur Stevenson's and Tyson Fury's.
Lopez seemed to change his tone about retirement when discussing his achievements in the ring, adding: "Boxing is my wife, I married it at 17 years young and I can't disrespect my love for it. Not for anyone or anything. I knew they were going to try and do something. 25 years young, seven-time world champion. Two-time lineal world champion. That's two Hall of Fame careers in one."
Taylor showed respect for Lopez after his win despite their heated rivalry before the fight - with the Scot also sharing his hopes of fighting his rival again in the future. Lopez then backtracked on his prior comments by issuing an apology to Taylor for his comment about wanting to kill him.
"Josh, I do want to say one thing. I think I let my emotions get the best of me. I do not want to take your life, I want you to go back to your family my man. I apologise as a man," Lopez said in the ring as Taylor replied: "It's all fun and games, I never took it to heart anyway."
