WBO junior welterweight titleholder Teofimo Lopez 19-1 (13) has accused undisputed welterweight champion Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford 40-0 (31) of building his career on defeating injured fighters.
The 36-year-old Crawford from Omaha, Nebraska, won his first world title a decade ago when he travelled to Scotland to defeat Ricky Burns on points to claim the WBO lightweight strap. His first title defence against Ray Beltran won him The Ring championship at 135-pounds.
One year later he moved up to junior welterweight where he unified the WBC, WBA, WBO and IBF titles, as well as winning the coveted Ring Magazine championship at 140-pounds.
His welterweight campaign commenced in June 2018 when he stopped WBO titleholder Jeff Horn in the ninth round and culminated in a crushing ninth-round defeat of Errol ‘The Truth’ Spence Jr to unify all major world titles at 147-pounds, becoming The Ring’s champion for the third time in as many weight classes.
Crawford is expected to face Spence in a rematch at junior middleweight in his next bout.
Brooklyn’s Lopez, 26, who is preparing for a fight against Jamaine Ortiz, sees a fight against Crawford in his future.
“I did call out Crawford. I said if it presents itself, we’d fight. At 147. It has to be at 147-pounds, I know they are talking about him and Spence and their rematch clause at 154-pounds so whatever that case may be,” the two-weight Ring Magazine champion said to Boxing Social.
“When I beat [Vasiliy] Lomachenko, Crawford didn’t have no problem saying that he will come down and fight me, so what’s up? I’m not here to play games, I want to fight the best because that is what it is all about. I need to test myself and challenge myself and people are going to be like ‘ooh, that is a challenge’, the only challenge that I have in front of me is myself.
“The fighters that Crawford fought were handicapped. Errol Spence just announced about his cataract and stuff. Jose Benavidez, when he fought him, he had a shot leg. Then there is that fighter that he faced and they tried to make in into a big thing and he was injured too? Kell Brook, with his eye.
“Every fighter that Crawford has faced throughout the 147-pound division, whether it looks good on paper, they have been injured. I am healthy, fight the best fighter at a healthier weight. Let’s do it.”
Crawford was been less than impressed with Lopez’s comments about him.
“Teofimo Lopez, your little bitch ass better worry about them little guys that’s on yo ass down there in yo weight class,” Crawford posted to his social media account on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“It’s crazy. Every time I see yo hoe ass, you don’t even look my way, but when you in front of a camera, you got so much to say. You a pussy.”
