Top Rank has requested the WBO to have Teofimo Lopez made ‘Super Champion’ at 140, which would put him in the position to be made the mandatory challenger to undisputed welterweight champion Terrence Crawford’s WBO belt at 147, ahead of #1 contender Alexis Rocha.
The WBO may grant this request by Top Rank, but that still doesn’t mean that Teofimo (19-1, 13 KOs) will get the title shot against Crawford because he might not return to the 147-lb division.
Crawford already has his IBF mandatory due against Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis. Terence says he has no interest in fighting him because he only wants legacy fights against Canelo Alvarez & Jermell Charlo.
There are already many fans who feel that Crawford wants no part of fighting Boots because he could ruin everything for him, and Terence couldn’t count on him being weight-drained like Errol Spence Jr. was for their fight last July.
Boots isn’t going to pig out and balloon up to 190 lbs the way Spence is rumored to have done before training camp for a fight with Crawford.
It would make Crawford look like he’s ducking Boots Ennis if he were to return to the 147-lb division to face the 26-year-old Teofimo, who was beaten by the unheralded George Kambosos Jr. in 2021. Many feel he was given a gift decision over Sandor Martin last December.
Depending on which order the mandatories at 147, Crawford could be forced to vacate his IBF title if that one is due before the WBO belt.
Crawford would likely offer Boots a step aside so that he could take the lucrative match against Teofimo. However, Boots isn’t the type to agree to a step-aside deal, especially given that the chances of Crawford fighting him afterward would be virtually zero.
Crawford will surely vacate his IBF title to avoid a possible loss to Boots because that would ruin his chances of landing a big-money fight against the Canelo Alvarez vs. Jermell Charlo winner.
After three consecutive poor performances, Teofimo saved his career with an upset twelve round unanimous decision victory over former undisputed light welterweight champion Josh Taylor last June.
Teofimo showed the kind of form that he had displayed in his win over Vasily Lomachenko, making Taylor look overmatched. While as good as that performance was for Teofimo, it still doesn’t mean that he’ll be able to do the same thing to the killers at 140.
Taylor looked like a shot fighter in his previous fight against Jack Catterall last year in February, leaving some boxing fans with the belief that Josh’s grueling fights against Jose Ramirez & Regis Prograis took the best out of him.
Earlier today, Crawford’s trainer Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre revealed that Errol Spence Jr. has activated his rematch clause to fight Terence next. The rematch could take place in December; if not, it will happen in the first quarter of 2024.