One more star has been subtracted from Eddy Reynoso's swelling stable.
A week after Ryan Garcia shared that his reunion with Canelo Alvarez’s career-long coach and lifetime confidant
would be put on hold due to circumstances, Teofimo Lopez Jr. shared on Monday that he too won’t be training with the former trainer of the year.
Lopez and Garcia are both scheduled to fight on the Times Square, New York card on May 2 presented by The Ring, while Alvarez is set to fight on May 3 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia against William Scull. Both events will be broadcast live on DAZN globally.
Certainly the logistical situation did not help matters for Lopez and Garcia, who formed a pact with Reynoso before Alvarez’s fight against Scull was announced on February 8.
"It could be a lot of things. Maybe just the time frame,” Lopez told Punsh Drunk Boxing. “Eddy Reynoso didn't really speak to my father. He just went through our team [to let us know]. I don't know if we did something wrong or they are just focused on themselves. Maybe they felt that a fighter like myself who is elite, they need more time. It doesn't make sense. Whatever the case may be. We love them. We appreciate them. This won't be the end of our story with them. They are just in tunnel vision right now. Am I disappointed about it? Yeah, I am. I take it as competition.”
Lopez said Alvarez is expected to travel to Saudi Arabia nearly three weeks before the fight. Lopez added he was ready to join Alvarez in camp in Truckee, California on Monday but will now resume training in South Florida with his father Teofimo Sr., and longtime coach Milton Lacroix.
The Ring and WBO junior welterweight champion Lopez (21-1, 13 KOs) is set to defend his titles against Arnold Barboza Jr. (32-0, 11 KOs).
Lopez slapped Barboza during a press conference last week in Los Angeles following a heated exchange.
“I don't know. They didn't tell us that [I’m not focused.] It's more motivation, to be honest,” said Lopez. “It hurts though. That sh!t hurt. I'm going to be real with y'all. It hurts a little bit because I care; I love Canelo and the team, I do. But don't play me as anything else than what it is. I'm the best fighter. I won't coattail or bandwagon anybody because we did it our way. We were respectfully only asking to enhance our game. That takes a lot from a champion. We don't need to. I told my father, 'Why are we doing this?' What I really asked for was to train [alongside Canelo at the same time]. I’m not there to spy. I’m there to learn. Why can't we do that? But it's not Canelo's fault because he’s just focused on his fight. It's not Eddy's fault. Maybe it's just the alignment of things. But sh!t, I'm upset. I’m really upset.”
Manouk Akopyan is a lead writer for The Ring. He can be reached on X and Instagram @ManoukAkopyan.