Arguably THE hottest fighter in the sport right now, four-belt lightweight ruler Teofimo Lopez has already been asked what his next move will be; this just hours after his brilliant, upset win over pound-for-pound best (in the opinion of many) Vasyl Lomachenko. 23 year old Lopez, 16-0(12), who stated before Saturday night’s win that he is “the new face of boxing,” and that we haven’t seen anything like his full talents yet, sure seems to have plenty of options.
A rematch with Lomachenko doesn’t figure to happen – “What for?” Lopez said at the post-fight presser, adding that as the fight was not close (on the cards) there is no need to fight Loma a second time; Lopez Snr saying much the same thing – but a move up in weight might happen. Lopez Snr said that his son has been killing himself to make 135 “for years” and that it’s time to move up to 140. Lopez the fighter stated that if anything he will be stronger and better hydrated up at 140.
Lopez doesn’t have any shortage of excellent fights at lightweight if he does decide to stick around – with the likes of Devin Haney, Gervonta Davis (who has to get past Leo Santa Cruz first) and Ryan Garcia (who has to get past Luke Campbell next) all calling him out. But if Lopez is struggling to make 135, then of course he should move up. At 140, Lopez against the winner of the Josh Taylor and Jose Ramirez unification clash would be awesome, and this is a fight Lopez says he would certainly welcome.
These are exciting times for the lower weight divisions, and as Lopez says, the take over has begun; with himself and the likes of Shakur Stevenson at the head of the line as far as doing the taking over. Lopez has one heck of a great future ahead of him. We all know he can crack, we now know he can outbox as masterful a boxer as Lomachenko, and we know Lopez is a grounded, level-headed type of guy. The big, big fame Lopez now has doesn’t figure to take him off his feet or out of his focused game-plan of dominating the sport of boxing.
Maybe Lopez will have one, maybe two more fights at 135 (if I had my way, I’d see him fight Haney in what would likely be a classic), or maybe he will move up to 140 in his next fight. Either way, we fans will be tuning in.
