Facing the toughest fight of his life, Teofimo Lopez decided to set up his training camp in the secluded suburbs of Flemington, New Jersey, far away from a host of distractions back home in Las Vegas.
The lightweight sensation, who takes on titleholder Richard Commey on the Terence Crawford-Egidijus Kavaliauskas undercard Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York, also brought in a new assistant trainer: former two-division titleholder Joey Gamache.
Gamache says the change of locale meant that Lopez was able to train under proper conditions, which wasn’t the case leading into his fight with Masayoshi Nakatani in July. The Japanese fighter proved to be tougher than expected, as Lopez had to settle for a wide decision. Gamache says that was an aberration.”
“To judge Teofimo in that last fight, you really can’t,” said Gamache, who also trains Swedish heavyweight contender Otto Wallin. “He wasn’t himself. There were a lot of distractions and issues there. This camp has been really smooth. No distractions or problems around him.”
Gamache also pointed to the quality of Lopez’s sparring partners during this training camp. Lopez brought in former 140-pound titleholder Ivan Baranchyk and Abraham Nova, as well as a few other standout prospects from the Philadelphia area. Having spent seven weeks with the Lopez team, Gamache came away thoroughly impressed. It reminded him of another elite talent he once helped train.
“Teofimo has all the tools,” Gamache said. “I worked with (Vasiliy) Lomachenko a few years back and he has all the tools as well. Both fighters got so much to work with, so very, very talented. It’s interesting when you see that kind of quality of fighter.”
Should Lopez defeat Commey on Saturday night, that will set up a potential fight with Lomachenko in 2020. Gamache likes Lopez’s chances.
“It would have been hard envisioning anyone beating Lomachenko – he’s such a big talent,” Gamache said. “But after going through this camp with Teofimo and seeing the talent that he has, I couldn’t be more impressed. It’s a real fight. A very dangerous fight for Lomachenko in a lot of ways. The kid is a fantastic boxer. But it’s a real fight.”
Commey, of course, is no slouch.
“Commey’s had two title fights and stopped both guys,” Gamache said. “Defensively speaking, he don’t have much defense. But he’s a good puncher, so he’s dangerous on that end.”
At the same time, Gamache believes his charge is on a different level from the New York-based Ghanian.
“You’re looking at a guy (Lopez) that’s got a a big amateur background, which Commey didn’t have,” Gamache said. “The power that he has, the speed, the footwork, the defense: He’s very, very special. There are parallels between him and Lomachenko.”