Don’t expect Teofimo Lopez to issue a mea culpa for his highly contentious words.

The former undisputed lightweight champion and current 140-pound contender came under fire last month when he offered remarks that were perceived as hostile, especially toward Black fighters. Among his claims, Lopez said he believed his promoter, Top Rank, was favoring their roster of Black fighters over him.

Public opprobrium was swift, with many characterizing Lopez’s comments as racist. Lopez’s father and trainer, Teofimo Lopez Sr, subsequently attempted to defend his son, saying his son’s words were misconstrued.

For those seeking an apology from the fighter himself, however, their expectations would apparently be for naught.

In a recent interview—arranged ahead of Lopez’s scheduled June 10 fight against WBO 140-pound titlist Josh Taylor at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City—Lopez made it clear he did not regret what he said.

“I wouldn’t be Teofimo if I did apologize,” Lopez told Punsh Drunk Boxing. “I don’t apologize to any of the stuff that I say. If you take it wrong, then that’s on you because I don’t take it to that extreme. No I don’t. I know my place. Trust me, brothers. Trust me, sisters. I know my place. I just don’t…I just speak a certain kind of way, strategically, on one specific thing. But others will turn my words and switch it around to do what they got to do to pay with it.”

Lopez said his intransigence is in part due to the lack of sympathetic outreach he received when he was hospitalized with a serious lung condition after his points loss to George Kambosos Jr. in 2021,

“I mean they promote that more than they do my own fight right now,” Lopez said. “Am I sorry? No, I’m not sorry. I just speak on what it is. No one’s sorry for me. When I was dying and when I was in the ICU after my fight, no one said Teofimo, wish you well, hope you’re good. No one wrote to me.”