Promoter Bob Arum says his fighter, Teofimo Lopez, is an “Underdog” against Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis for his IBF and WBA welterweight titles if that fight happens next. Teofimo (23-1, 13 KOs) has been calling out Ennis (34-0, 30 KOs) since beating Arnold Barboza Jr. by a dull 12-round unanimous decision last Friday night at Times Square in New York City. Teofimo lacks the power, size, and courage to have any shot at beating Ennis. If the fight happened, it would be a money-grab on Boots and Lopez’s part.
Too Much, Too Soon
Ennis would obviously be too big, too powerful, and talented for the smallish Teofimo, who has historically folded when facing pressure fighters. Boots is more interested in unifying against other champions than fighting a regular contender, or in Teofimo’s case, a guy not ranked at 147, just coming up in weight for the money. He’s already hinted that he’ll return to 140 after. So, this is just a one-off for Lopez.
Lopez, 27, wants a big-money fight to earn the kind of dough that some of the other fighters have been enjoying lately. Nobody is interested in fighting him, and he would not be able to earn the type of dough that fighters like Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney, and Terence Crawford are getting.
Moreover, Teofimo’s running against Barboza Jr., which some fans compared to Shakur Stevenson, makes him one of the undesirables and not someone that the popular fighters would want to waste time on. No one wants to fight runners or fighters who are intent on clowning and showboating all night like Teo did in his fight against Barboza Jr.
“I think he’s very much an underdog against [Jaron ‘Boons’] Ennis,” said promoter Bob Arum to Manouk Alopyan at Ring Magazine about Teofimo Lopez being an underdog against IBF and WBA welterweight champion Jaron Ennis if that fight happens next.
Ugly Fight
If the Ennis-Teofimo fight did happen, the general belief is it would be a mismatch with Boots blanking Lopez in a one-sided fight. Lopez would likely use the same Karen Chukhadzhian style that fans saw him use against Barboza Jr. last Friday night. He’d move all night, clown, and attempt to steal rounds based on one or shots. It would be ugly and and far less entertaining than Ennis’ rematch with Karen.