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TMZSports.com
Teofimo Lopez was born and bred in NYC … but the boxing star bolted from the Big Apple before coronavirus decimated the city. So, how’d he know it was a good idea to get the hell outta Dodge?
Well, disaster movies … where else??
“You ever seen those movies like ‘2012’? Obviously the major cities are always gonna get hit first.”
He’s right … in films like “Deep Impact,” “Armageddon,” “Independence Day,” “The Day After Tomorrow” … New York City seems to always get obliterated.
So, with that movie knowledge in hand, the 22-year-old undefeated IBF lightweight champ booked it outta NYC.
“Me and my wife, we took our 3 dogs with us. We pretty much just left. Man, honestly, we were lucky. We left 2 or 3 days before it got hit hard,” Teofimo tells us.
“And, ya know we had to, due to my health condition. I have asthma. Not a lot of people know about it. I’ve been diagnosed with is since I was 6 years old. I know coronavirus, COVID-19, it hits the lungs. I just can’t risk it.”
FYI, NYC is the U.S. epicenter for coronavirus … with over 122K identified cases, and thousands of deaths.
Lopez, his wife, and their pups ended up in Arkansas — near the missus’ family — but just ’cause he’s away from his gym, doesn’t mean he’s slackin’ when it comes to training.
“I’m still working out. I been 2 weeks already just doing the treadmill, just running, and pretty much pumping weights. Hitting the bag.”
In fact, he says he might look a little more swole when the world emerges from the pandemic.
“I’m getting big!”
Lopez has a reason to train … he was supposed to fight Vasyl Lomachenko — #1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world — on May 30th at Madison Square Garden … in what would’ve been a HUUUGE fight.
That’s obviously off for now … but Teofimo plans on beating up Hi-Tech later this year.
In the meantime, he had a message for Loma … who’s quarantining in Ukraine.
“Stay in shape, you fat f**k!”