Teofimo Lopez Sr DESTROYS Teofimo Lopez Jr After He PULLS OUT of Shakur Fight – “You’re a Disgrace to the Family!”
New York, January 30, 2026 – With just a few hours before the blockbuster Teofimo Lopez vs Shakur Stevenson fight at Madison Square Garden, a real bomb exploded in the boxing world: **Teofimo Lopez Jr. officially withdrew from the match** just minutes before weigh-in. The official reason given by Lopez’s team was “a sudden health problem”, but what shocked the boxing community was the extremely harsh reaction from his own father – Teofimo Lopez Sr.**, who is also the main coach and manager of his son’s career.
Teofimo Lopez Sr. held an emergency press conference at his hotel near Madison Square Garden, where he publicly criticized his son in front of dozens of reporters and television cameras. With a voice filled with anger and frustration, he declared: **“You’re a disgrace to the family! You’re throwing away everything we built together. You’re scared, Teo. You’re running away from the fight because you know deep down you can’t beat Shakur. This is not the son I raised. This is not the champion I trained!”**
These words quickly spread like a virus on social networks, with the hashtags #TeofimoPullsOut and #LopezSrDestroysLopezJr trending top 1 globally within just 30 minutes.
### Drama context: From the biggest hype of the year to the last minute shock. The match Teofimo Lopez (22-1, 13 KOs) vs Shakur Stevenson (24-0, 11 KOs) is considered the highest confrontation in American boxing in early 2026. This is a match for the WBO super lightweight title and The Ring belt, and is also an opportunity for Stevenson to conquer his fourth title in the fourth weight class. The match was heavily promoted as “The Ring VI” on DAZN PPV, tickets sold out within 48 hours, expected to have more than 20,000 spectators present at Madison Square Garden.
However, since last week, there have been signs of instability. Lopez Sr. and his son constantly had conflicts during training sessions, with many leaked videos showing father and son arguing fiercely about tactics. Stevenson also did not hesitate to “spin” Lopez Jr. in the final press conference: “If he’s scared, just say it straight. Don’t look for excuses.” Many fans predict that Lopez may have psychological or physical problems, especially when he once admitted that pressure from his family was great.
On the morning of January 30, 2026, just a few hours before weigh-in, Lopez’s team officially announced their withdrawal. Representatives of Matchroom Boxing and DAZN confirmed: “The fight was canceled due to Lopez Jr. being unable to compete due to medical reasons.” No specific details were given, but sources close to the matter revealed Lopez Jr. had problems with her weight and mental health in her last days.
### Teofimo Lopez Sr. “breaking” his son: The heaviest words In a press conference lasting nearly 45 minutes, Teofimo Lopez Sr. not restraining emotions. He repeatedly recalled the journey of taking his son from a Honduran boy to the lightweight throne, defeating Vasyl Lomachenko, then conquering Josh Taylor to get the WBO 140 pound title.
He said: **“I sacrificed everything for him. I quit my job, abandoned my family, abandoned everything to bring Teo to the top. Now he runs away? Is he afraid of Shakur? Is he afraid of losing? This is not my son. This is a coward!”**
He also directly criticized the way Lopez Jr. handling pressure: **“He always blames others – me, the team, the referee. But today, he couldn’t blame anyone else. He chose to give up himself. And that makes me ashamed in front of the entire boxing world.”**
Lopez Sr. also revealed that he advised his son “not to run away”, but Lopez Jr. “not listening”. He ended with the words that silenced the entire meeting room: **“If he doesn’t want to fight, then stop calling me father. I don’t want to be associated with a quitter.”**
### Reaction from the boxing community and social networks Immediately after the press conference, the reaction was explosive:- **Shakur Stevenson** posted a short tweet: “I’m ready. He wasn’t. Simple as that. #NoExcuses” with a picture of him wearing training gloves.- **Terence Crawford** commented: “Boxing needs real warriors. Sorry for Teo, but this is a lesson.”- **Oscar De La Hoya** said on the podcast: “Lopez Sr. is right. If his son doesn’t have the fighting spirit, then don’t enter the ring.” – Millions of fans on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok shared the clip of Lopez Sr. speech, with captions like “Father destroys son”, “Lopez family drama”, “Teofimo pulled out – Sr. is furious!”
Many fans of Lopez Jr. defended him, saying that the pressure from his father was too great and could be the main reason why he withdrew. Others heavily criticized: “From lightweight champion to coward – how sad.”
### Consequences and the future The canceled match caused DAZN and Matchroom Boxing huge losses in PPV revenue. DAZN announced refunds for live ticket buyers and promised to arrange another replacement match as soon as possible. Stevenson could be booked against another champion at 140 pounds (like Subriel Matias or Devin Haney) for the interim title.
For Teofimo Lopez Jr., this is the biggest shock of his career. He used to be a pound-for-pound top fighter, but a last-minute withdrawal combined with criticism from his own father could seriously affect his image and spirit. Many experts predict he will need a long time to mentally recover, and may face accusations of “giving up” from the boxing community for many years to come.
Teofimo Lopez Sr. ended the press conference by declaring: “I love my son, but I cannot accept weakness. If he wants to come back, he must prove himself worthy. Otherwise, just stay home and rest.”
The Lopez family drama – from father and son to the ring – has probably never been so hot. American Boxing just lost the biggest match of the year, but received an equally dramatic drama.