Teofimo Lopez wants the opportunity to fight Terence Crawford before he retires after he faces Canelo Alvarez.
Unfortunately for Teo, Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) is heading towards 154 to fight for a world title on August 3rd against WBA junior middleweight champion champion Israil Madrimov. If Crawford wins that fight, he’ll target another world champion at 154 or move up two weight divisions to challenge Canelo for his belts.
Lopez says he’ll come up to 147, and Crawford can come back down from 154 to make the fight happen. Teofimo is open to a catchweight fight against Crawford. He just wants to fight him and become a three-time lineal champion.
Teofimo (20-1, 13 KOs) believes that 36-year-old Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) will move up to fight undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo for the final massive payday and then get out of the sport. Crawford turns 37 in September, and that’s a grandpa for the sport.
Crawford Focused on Canelo Vision
The money Crawford can make fighting Teofimo isn’t in the same ballpark as what he can get fighting Canelo. That’s his target, and it would be pointless for him to put that fight at risk by taking on the young lion Teofimo or Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis.
“Gervonta ain’t going to fight me. He’s too much of a p***y. So, I’d rather go after the guy that has too much of an ego, and that’s Terence Crawford,” said Teofimo Lopez to the Danza Project about his wanting to fight Crawford.
Obviously, Crawford’s ego isn’t strong enough for him to want to fight Boots Ennis, David Benavidez, or David Morrell. He knows his limitations, and he’s not going to risk taking a loss fighting someone that he doesn’t have full confidence in beating before the Canelo payday.
“He’s just doing that so he can get one more bag, and then he’s going to be like, ‘I’m out. I done did everything.’ Win or lose, it doesn’t matter. He’s going up two more weight classes,” said Canelo about Crawford.
Crawford’s Calculated Path
Of course, Crawford is hanging around for that final bag against Canelo. His Excellency could make Crawford’s exit from the sport faster if he makes the fight between him and Canelo next if he successfully beats Madrimov on August 3rd.
If Crawford loses to Madrimov, he will have a big problem: He will have ruined His Excellency’s plans.
“Crawford isn’t stupid when it comes to that. Canelo is a little bit on his way out, but that’s a cash cow moment right there,” said Teofimo. “You’re about to get like $50-100 million, easy. Shout out to His Excellency for trying to make boxing great again in those ways and to Turki Alalshikh.”
Crawford isn’t choosing to fight Canelo because he’s showing signs of wear. He wants to fight him for the big money and the fame, and if he’s victorious, it’ll change his life in many ways.
“It’s to the point that they can’t even give me Crawford. I’m like, ‘Yo, give me Crawford so I can make it thrice,” said Teofimo.
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