By: Hans Themistode
Teofimo Lopez is currently still living off the high he received when he dethroned former unified lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko just a few weeks ago. The win for the Brooklyn native netted him all four belts in the division which makes him the youngest undisputed champion in boxing history.
Although his belt collection at 135 pounds is over, there are still several lucrative fights left for him in the weight class. Amongst them, is a matchup with undefeated two division world titlist Gervonta Davis who is currently putting on the finishing touches on his training as he prepares to take on Leo Santa Cruz this weekend at the Alamodome in San Antonio Texas.
While a matchup between the two would give Lopez the opportunity to land another marquee name on his resume, his struggles on the scale could see him go in another direction.
“I’ve been at the weight for seven years now,” said Lopez during an interview on Max on Boxing. “I don’t know, there’s a lot of fish to catch at 140 as well.”
With an undisputed contest at 140 likely to take place against unified champions Josh Taylor and Jose Ramirez sometime in 2021, Lopez has said on numerous occasions that he would love the opportunity to become the first back to back undisputed champion. Yet, while Lopez has visions of more gold, Davis on the other hand, believes he knows the reason the Brooklyn native is so hesitant.
“The reason why he said his eyes aren’t on me is because he would struggle to make the weight,” said Davis on Max on Boxing. “He’s too big at 135 and I’ll be strong moving up to 135.”
On numerous occasions, Lopez has in fact had his issues making the 135 pound limit. Following his win over Lomachenko, his father and trainer in Lopez Sr., expressed his desire for his son to move up to 140 pounds as opposed to killing his body to make 135.
If however, Lopez were to stick around a bit longer, Davis would be more than willing to face him.
“If he’s willing to stay at 135 then we can definitely make the fight happen.”
In terms of skills in the ring, Davis believes Lopez is a very good fighter, but he simply doesn’t compare to himself.
“I got the whole package,” said Davis. “Teofimo does not have the whole package. He does not have the footwork or any of that, I have the full package.”