Teofimo Lopez talks victory ‘Fortnite’ dance

Confession: I didn’t know what that dance was that Teofimo Lopez did after he got the W on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden, on the Lomachenko vs Linares undercard.

Lopez, born in New York and a Florida resident, went to 9-0 (7 KOs) whe he stopped Vitor Jones Freitas, nephew of ex-titleholder Acelino Freitas, a standout from Brazil.

He’s known for his superior back-flips, which he showed off after his first round stop-out. And then that dance — was it an Irish jig?

Nah, I was clued in by the Top Rank Twitter account. They informed me the Lopez jig is seen in the video game Fortnite. “It’s called ‘Take the L,’’’ Lopez told me Sunday. “Fortnite is honestly the most-known game in the world at this moment.”

Yep, Lopez, who has two sisters who play it, loves it. Wikipedia described the game thusly:

Fortnite is set in contemporary Earth, where the sudden appearance of a worldwide storm causes 98% of the world’s population to disappear, and zombie-like creatures rise to attack the remainder. Considered by Epic as a cross between Minecraft and Left 4 Dead, Fortnite has up to four players cooperating on various missions on randomly-generated maps to collect resources, build fortifications around defensive objectives that are meant to help fight the storm and protect survivors, and construct weapons and traps to engage in combat with waves of these creatures that attempt to destroy the objectives. Players gain rewards through these missions to improve their hero characters, support teams, and arsenal of weapon and trap schematics to be able to take on more difficult missions. The game is supported through microtransactions to purchase in-game currency that can be used towards these upgrades.

“It’s a battle royale game,” the fighter said. “Basically everyone for themselves. Almost like ‘The Hunger Games’ in a way. And ‘Take The L’ is what you do after winning the game or could be after killing someone in the game.”

While we had him, we were curious about those backflips. When did the born in Brooklyn kid who moved to Florida at age six start doing them? And do they make loved ones nervous?

“Started them in my backyard on my trampoline when I was 7 years old. And yeah till this day it gets them nervous!”

This kid wants to entertain you, thrill you, and he’s sending notice now of what he believes his legacy will be. Hint: It’s sky-high, Hall of Fame-level. No dissing to the Shakur Stevensons and Ryan Garcias, but Lopez says he’s at the top of the prospect pile right now. “I’m on another level,” he stated.

He may then have done a back flip or the Fortnite dance, but I don’t know, we did this back-and-forth via text message.