Brian Norman Jr. open to Teofimo Lopez Jr., but targeting titles – and history

Undefeated interim WBO welterweight titleholder Brian Norman Jr. is open to a potential bout with Teofimo Lopez Jr. should Lopez decide to move up from junior welterweight, though Norman emphasized his primary goal is to unify titles.

The 23-year-old Norman (26-0, 20 KOs) claimed his interim title with a 10th-round knockout of Giovani Santillan in San Diego in May.

Lopez, 26, from Brooklyn, New York, hinted at a move to welterweight after his 12-round decision win over Steve Claggett on June 29. Norman, from Conyers, Georgia, responded positively to the idea of facing Lopez.

“Of course I’d be interested in that fight,” Norman told BoxingScene. “He is with Top Rank, I am with Top Rank as well, so it would be easy to make.”

“If he wants to come to 147, I will gladly introduce him to the division,” Norman said. “Anything is possible. We have seen what he did in the past, trying to be great at a young age. … It could happen, but business is still business. Maybe it won’t happen.”

Terence Crawford currently holds the regular WBO welterweight title, but Norman suggested Crawford may be focusing on the junior middleweight division, as evidenced by his upcoming fight against WBA titleholder Israil Madrimov on Aug. 3 in Los Angeles. Norman also suggested Crawford may have permanently left the welterweight division. 

“He was already saying before the [Errol] Spence [Jr.] fight that he was too big for 147,” Norman noted. “Also, he is not really pursuing what I would call regular fights.”

Looking ahead, Norman implied that welterweight titles matter more to him than the specific opponent. “I want anybody with a belt,” he said, singling out IBF titleholder Jaron “Boots” Ennis, who is scheduled to fight David Avanesyan this Saturday, along with WBA titleholder Eimantas Stanionis and WBC titlist Mario Barrios.

Norman, an avid reader, highlighted the importance of knowledge in his approach to navigating the welterweight division – and boxing in general.  

“The main thing is, knowledge is power – but history will forever repeat itself,” Norman said. “You learn from the past, what made this person great and that person great. If you follow what they do, or even do more, you could be just as good as them or even better. The more you know about history, the more you can do today.”