Undisputed lightweight champion Teofimo ‘The Takeover’ Lopez 16-0 (12) is considering a move up in weight if a big fight cannot be made in the 135-pound division.
The 23-year-old Lopez added the WBA, WBO and WBC ‘Franchise’ titles to his IBF belt when he outpointed Vasiliy Lomachenko 14-2 (10) in Las Vegas last October.
Lopez has a mandatory defence due against Australian George ‘Ferocious’ Kambosos Jr. There are also mooted fights with rising stars Ryan Garcia, Devon Haney and Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis.
“We are talking about April or May [for my next fight], but I still do not have a date on when I’ll return. There is no specific date, but those are the months in which I believe that I will return,” Lopez told Mi Finde.
“If I can’t face my mandatory fight, against George Kambosos, the other would have to be Devin Haney. If I can’t get him, we’re going to take Ryan Garcia. If that doesn’t happen, we go after Gervonta Davis, but Floyd Mayweather doesn’t want him to fight me.
“If nobody wants to fight, I will have to look for an opponent at 140 pounds.
“When you are the best everyone wants to be like you. They would like to be in my position, they want to be the king of boxing, but they can’t. They will only achieve it if they face Teofimo and if they beat me, but that’s not going to happen.
“I am number one in the world, everyone who is below me wants my belts and everything I have, and that has motivated me.”
Lopez’s promoter Bob Arum says he would like to see his charge face Garcia, who has cultivated a huge following on social media.
“If I had to pick someone it would probably be Ryan Garcia because he means so much more to an event than the other two, Devin Haney and Gervonta Davis,” Arum said to iFL TV.
“Garcia is followed a lot on his social networks and [he has] personality. I think that if Garcia faced Teofimo it would be a great pay-per-view.
The second-best option, according to the Top Rank boss, would be WBA ‘regular’ champion Davis, followed by Haney.
“I think a fight against Tank Davis would be very lucrative because Davis has a good fan base,” he said.
“Haney would be in third because he hasn’t developed the same fan base as the other two. [Promoter Eddie] Hearn talked to me about Haney, and he’s a good fighter but he doesn’t mean much. You can’t put him in the same category as Garcia and Tank Davis as attractions.”
