Teddy Atlas has no doubt that Teofimo Lopez has suffered a decline in his boxing abilities.

The famed trainer and Hall of Fame broadcaster recently voiced a sentiment that seems to be growing in the boxing world, and that is that Lopez, a former unified lightweight champion, has not looked the same since his upset loss to George Kambosos Jr. in November 2021.

Question marks, indeed, abounded immediately after Lopez’s last performance, a tough split decision win over Sandor Martin several weeks ago at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Lopez was unable to mount a consistent offense against the cagey Spaniard and even found himself briefly on the canvas at one point early in the fight. While the verdict may not have been in any doubt — many, nonetheless, had a problem with judge Pasquale Procopio, who turned in an uncomfortably wide scorecard of 97-92 in favor of Lopez — few would say that they were impressed by Lopez’s latest outing. Even Lopez appeared to question himself after the fight.

Atlas himself did not mince words in his assessment of the 25-year-old native of Brooklyn.

“Not only has Lopez not progressed, he’s regressed,” Atlas said on his podcast The Fight with Teddy Atlas. “He does nothing. You gonna think I’m being tough. No, I’m being honest. If he were a baseball player, he’d back to hitting from the tee. Really. Really. I’m serious. He showed nothing.

"He pushed his jab all night, he reaches into counters. If anybody of any intelligence of this sport was in his corner … there’s just one thing I needed to tell Lopez. Listen, all night long, every time you come in, he’s not there. He steps out and makes you miss.

Atlas had a few words of advice for Lopez.

“Feint, feint,” Atlas said. “Act like you’re going to come in. Get him to make that step out prematurely. And come in behind a snapping not a pushing jab and get him. And close the gap and get him.”

“Nobody taught him that. Nobody to tell him that. Who’s gonna tell him that, and more importantly who’s gonna teach him that in the gym. Nobody. Nobody.”

Atlas suggested that Lopez needs to find a new trainer but realizes that is an emotionally fraught situation given that Lopez’s trainer is also his father, the often boisterous Teofimo Lopez Sr.

“This kid’s alone,” Atlas said. “You talking about being alone in the ring. When you get in that ring he’s really alone. And you know what there’ a part of him probably on some level … there’s a part of him that probably knows that but he won’t go against his father. He probably knows that he’s in that type of prison and that kind of rocket ship downward and he’s in it.

“But the guy driving the rocket ship is his father and he’s not going to kick his father out of that seat. He’s staying in that rocket ship until it crashes or wherever it freaking goes. There’s gotta be a part of him, on an emotional level, that is depressed over that. Intellectually, he has to know that, on some level and knowing that he’s in a kamikaze flight. Really.”

“Jab to the chest, somebody tell him that,” Atlas advised. “Hey this guy’s controlling you on the outside, that’s his world. He wants to live out there. Stabilize him. Jab to the chest, you won’t miss so easily. Just stabilize him so easily. And snap your jab. Don’t push it. Little things like that. Common sense things. Go to the body. Go to the body. He’s using his legs to defeat you, or give you trouble, right?”