Teofimo Lopez Jr. will continue to speak into existence his plan for making the biggest fight of his career as short of a night as possible.

The unbeaten lightweight titlist is all in for his upcoming multi-belt lightweight championship clash with Ukraine’s Vasiliy Lomachenko (14-1, 10KOs), which takes place this Saturday live on ESPN from The Bubble at MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The winner will be recognized as the true lightweight king, with Lomachenko—a three-division titlist and high-ranking pound-for-pound entrant—as the betting favorite.

The odds have never before discouraged Lopez from realizing his dreams and he’s not about to pick up that habit this weekend. 

“I have a purpose,” Lopez (15-0, 12KOs) insisted during the conclusion of the ‘Blood Sweat and Tears: Lomachenko vs. Lopez’ two-part documentary on ESPN. “I have a goal and I’m gonna achieve that goal. Can’t nobody stop me from achieving it.

“I’m not looking at Loma, I’m looking through him.”

The brash Brooklynite has insisted throughout the promotion that not only will he end Lomachenko’s unified title reign and pound-for-pound run but do so comfortably inside the distance. The belief comes with good reason as it’s how most of Lopez’s fights tend to close. It was how he claimed his first lightweight belt, annihilating Richard Commey inside of two rounds last December at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

“We are going to expose Loma,” vows Teofimo Lopez Sr., Lopez’s father and head trainer who has his own bitter past with Ukraine’s Lomachenko. “I know he’s a fraud. He’s going in there scared. It’s not going past five rounds.”

A significant part of this growing rivalry stemmed from a 2018 incident between Lomachenko and Teofimo Sr. It marked one of many times in the life of Teofimo Jr. where he’s vowed to have his father’s back, prepared to finish that mission this weekend. It’s made for a contentious yet entertaining promotion, though the promise is that every last word will be backed up where it matters most.

“The only way out of that ring is through that mother–ker that’s in front of me, It’s literally kill or be killed. I’m gonna look at him and tell him we’re going to war. You’re gonna see it in my eyes. And at that moment, at that very moment, I’m gonna f--k you up.”

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox