Teofimo Lopez dismissed the possibility of his moving up to welterweight to challenge IBF champion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis.
Lopez, WBO light welterweight champion, says he wants to face Terence Crawford, who he feels is starting to show signs of slowing down. Teofimo (20-1, 13 KO) states that he wants to face the 36-year-old Crawford before he gets much older.
Teofimo Eyes Crawford, Not Ennis
Crawford hasn’t shown any interest in returning to 147 to give Teofimo a handicap to fight him. Bud Crawford is campaigning at 154, and he’s not talked about returning to 147 before retiring.
Although the WBA and WBO have yet to strip Crawford of his last two remaining belts at 147, that’s expected to happen soon.
“Crawford is looking slower. I’d rather get him before he finishes. I’d rather get him before he really gets old,” said Teofimo Lopez to Fighthype about his wanting to take on Terence Crawford.
Lopez’s Motivation: Cashing Out Against Crawford
What Teofimo says is true. Crawford is getting slower, which could lead to him losing his next fight on August 3rd against WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov in Los Angeles. However, Crawford will still not come back down to 147 to give Teofimo a chance to get a payday against him, which is likely the only reason he wants to fight him.
“He’s getting slower. Look at the legs. I’m only 26. I’m just a baby. He’s 36. We’re ten years difference. This guy I’m facing, Steve Claggett. He’s 35, and this guy is a natural 147-pounder coming down to 140,” said Teofimo.
The reason Teofimo Lopez is fighting Claggett is because he’s showing an inability to fight decent opposition at 140 and is in danger of losing even to fringe contenders. Top Rank is being careful with Teofimo, protecting their investment for as long as possible until they can get him a big-money fight.
Crawford or Gervonta Davis are the type of fights that Top Rank would readily agree on, but until a fight like that falls into their laps, expect to see Teofimo protected, fighting lesser guys in the same mold as Claggett.
“I don’t understand why they [team Crawford] don’t want to make the fight happen,” said Teofimo. “We already are [great]. We just want to see how much more greatness we can achieve. That’s what I thought boxing is. The best fighting the best.”
Teofimo is not a great fighter. On the contrary, he’s an average fighter who has a following with fans on the East Coast but lacks the talent to face the killers at 140.
Dismissing Boots Ennis as a Legitimate Threat
“Jaron ‘Boots,’ they just elevated him to the IBF champion. He has yet to defend it in this upcoming bout [against replacement opponent David Avanesyan on July 13th],” said Teofimo. “He’s facing someone who Crawford had already beaten [in December 2022].”
The comments by Teofimo about Boots Ennis are to give him cover for ducking a fight against him because it’s a match that he would likely get massacred in, a match that destroys what’s left of his sinking popularity.
Teofimo’s loss to George Kambosos Jr. ruined his status, and his controversial wins over Sandor Martin and Jamaine Ortiz have finished him. He’s now hit rock bottom and is looking for a cash-out against Crawford.
Ennis (31-0, 28 KOs) wanted to challenge Crawford for the IBF title, but he wasn’t interested in defending the belt against him.
When it became clear that Crawford wouldn’t defend against Boots, the IBF mandatory, the International Boxing Federation stripped him. That’s why Boots Ennis was elevated to IBF champion rather than fighting for the belt.
Boots Ennis’ was originally scheduled to defend against his IBF mandatory Cody Crowley in his first defense on July 13th, but he pulled out of the fight due to a medical problem.
“This is his [Boots Ennis] first challenge fight, believe it or not. I think Boots is a great stylistic fighter. However, about 30 of his fights have been club shows in Philly shows. No one has really challenged him yet. There’s a lot of talent there, but we got to see something from Jaron ‘Boots’ before we can actually exchange that,” said Teofimo, dismissing the possibility of fighting Boots Ennis.
It’s understandable that Teofimo would steer clear of Boots Ennis because that fight would end badly for the New Yorker. Teofimo is having problems just trying to beat fringe contenders Jamaine Ortiz and Sandor Martin.
Teo is now reduced to fighting Steve Claggett, and using Terence Crawford’s name for clout purposes to create interest in his title defense this Saturday night on ESPN.
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