{"id":426123,"date":"2026-02-14T23:23:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-14T23:23:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/426123\/"},"modified":"2026-02-14T23:23:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T23:23:09","slug":"stephen-edwards-says-teofimo-lopez-needs-therapist-first","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/426123\/","title":{"rendered":"Stephen Edwards Says Teofimo Lopez Needs Therapist First"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=boxingnews24.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" style=\"display:flex; align-items:center; justify-content:center;&#010;            width:140px; height:40px; overflow:hidden;\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"660\" height=\"208\" alt=\"Add EBoxing News 24as a preferred source on Google\" class=\"perfmatters-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/google.png\"\/><\/p>\n<p>  <\/a><\/p>\n<p>  <a href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqLAgKIiZDQklTRmdnTWFoSUtFR0p2ZUdsdVoyNWxkM015TkM1amIyMG9BQVAB?ceid=US\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" style=\"display:flex; align-items:center; justify-content:center;&#010;            width:140px; height:40px; overflow:hidden;\"><br \/>\n    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"468\" height=\"128\" alt=\"Follow Boxing News 24 on Google News\" style=\"height:100%; width:auto; display:block;\" class=\"perfmatters-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/follow-google-news.png\"\/><br \/>\n  <\/a> <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think he should start off with a therapist or sports psychologist,\u201d Edwards said to his readers in his mailbag at Boxingscene. \u201cI say that respectfully.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lopez defeated Vasiliy Lomachenko in 2020, back when the Ukrainian was widely regarded as the sport\u2019s pound-for-pound king. Edwards described that win as one of the decade\u2019s best, yet noted the instability that followed.<\/p>\n<p>The decline began in November 2021 with a 12-round split decision loss to George Kambosos Jr. in his first title defense. A move to the 140-lb division the next year brought similar struggles against Sandor Martin. Those problems resurfaced against Jamaine Ortiz in 2024. That dominant win over Josh Taylor looked like a return to form, but the old struggles returned in his next few fights.<\/p>\n<p>Edwards said Lopez\u2019s inability to adjust during fights stands out more than any single technical flaw. He noted that Lopez tends to perform at one extreme or the other. He is either controlling the fight or failing to find solutions once early plans break down.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEither he\u2019s on fire all night, or he\u2019s struggling all night,\u201d Edwards said. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t start out struggling, figure out his opponent, then go on to victory.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Edwards also pointed to structural challenges tied to Lopez\u2019s stance. His physical dimensions can make it harder to apply pressure consistently against longer opponents. Those issues, however, were secondary to the mental demands placed on any trainer attempting to stabilize Lopez\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf Teo does decide to move on to a new trainer, that trainer will really have his work cut out,\u201d Edwards said.<\/p>\n<p>Teofimo remains one of boxing\u2019s most gifted fighters. Edwards\u2019 comments suggest the challenge ahead involves rebuilding his confidence as much as it does refining his technique. Consistency, it seems, is the first priority.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"182\" data-end=\"497\">Dan Ambrose is a boxing journalist at Boxing News 24, recognized for his direct analysis and extensive coverage of the global fight landscape. His reporting focuses on major bouts, divisional developments, and the sport\u2019s most discussed storylines.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cI think he should start off with a therapist or sports psychologist,\u201d Edwards said to his readers in&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":426124,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[2560,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-426123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-boxing","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=426123"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426123\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/426124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=426123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=426123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=426123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}