Teofimo Lopez has been working out with Canelo Alvarez and trainer Eddy Reynoso this week, looking 170+ lb-ish in what some fans believe is preparation to move up to 154 to take on the big dog, Terence Crawford.
Lopez Sr. Absent: A Shift to Team Canelo?
Interestingly, the two-division world champion Teofimo’s father, Lopez Sr, is nowhere to be seen with Teo’s workouts with Canelo and Reynoso. There’s speculation that he will be training with Team Canelo from now on, trying to ramp up for a new beginning at 147 or 154, where a lot of money fights are available.
Reynoso and Canelo have a lot of work to do with Teofimo if they want to get him ready to take on killers at welterweight or junior middleweight.
If Teofimo wants to challenge WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. for his belt, he must be rebuilt from the ground up because the 23-year-old will be a nightmare.
Teo needs a complete overhaul if he moves to 147 or junior middleweight. Even if Teofimo stays at 140, he needs a lot of work because he’s floundering in the division, looking ready to be beaten again.
154: A Land of Opportunity
Moving up to 154 would be a better option for Teofimo if the idea is to expand his pool of opposition, which would bring in the money. If Teo can move up to 154, he would have these fighters available to him:
– Terence Crawford
– Errol Spence
– Sebastian Fundora
– Vergil Ortiz Jr.
– Tim Tszyu
– Serhii Bohachuk
– Israil Madrimov
Teofimo has looked poor in his last two fights against Steve Claggett and Jamaine Ortiz. Those performances showed that Teo is either struggling at the weight or he’s on the downhill slope from the wars he had at 135 against Vasily Lomachenko and George Kambosos Jr.
140: A Dead End
It’s pretty obvious that 140 is a dead end for the 27-year-old Teofimo (21-1, 13 KOs), all the big fish have disappeared from this small lake, leaving it just a sewer, filled with no-name fighters, and opposition that won’t do anything for Teo’s career.
Lopez has been calling out Crawford but with no luck. However, Crawford needs a big-name opponent to bring in the cash, and it doesn’t look like he’s getting the Canelo mega-payday that he’s been on the campaign trail to get.
The 154-pounders are too dangerous and young for Crawford. He’s not going to want to mess with any of them and have one finish the job that Israil Madrimov started on August 3rd.
Read the full article here
