Teofimo Lopez will defend his super lightweight world title belt against Jamaine Ortiz this week, but it’s inevitable that the two-division champion has bigger fish to catch.
Lopez delivered the best performance of his career last year, dethroning undisputed fighter Josh Taylor at Madison Square Garden to win the WBO belt at 140 pounds. And after already defeating another elite fighter, Vasyl Lomachenko, the previous year, the 26-year-old earned a new challenge. With his scalp in mind.
Lopez has been in a war of words with undisputed welterweight champion Terrence Crawford in recent weeks, with the IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO belt holder firing Lopez and calling out fighters in his weight class. I told her to worry.
But Lopez, who faces Ortiz on Thursday night in Las Vegas, hit back at Crawford for ignoring him, urging him to schedule his next bout after a rematch with Errol Spence Jr., calling it a “great time” to make adjustments. he claimed. game.
“To be honest, it depends on his team,” he told MailSport. “He has a deal with Errol Spence Jr., so they’ll have to play another match. Once he’s done with that, we can lock him and me facing each other.”
Teofimo Lopez prepares to defend WBO super lightweight title against Jamaine Ortiz
Regarding Crawford’s words, he added, “Let’s give Crawford his five minutes of fame.” I say it like this. Don’t tell me I have nothing to worry about when I beat Josh Taylor, the king and undisputed champion, at 140. All I want to say is, I’m just following you. Don’t say you have to follow others.
“I know the skills I have. [Crawford] He’s nearing the end of his prime, and I’m not quite there yet. Now is the perfect time to wage this battle, and I will leave it to the higher gods. ”
Lopez previously claimed that his American rival only faced “disabled athletes” during his career, meaning most of the elite opponents he fought were battling injuries, sparking Crawford’s ire. I was risking buying it.
The Takeover reiterated that it respects Crawford as a boxer, but doubled down on its original claim by claiming that Crawford is “not even in his prime” and “is planning on retiring.”
“Crawford is a hell of a fighter, I’m not going to take that away from him. I can tell you he’s a two-time champion. But I don’t have the illusion that you fought every fighter who was injured. I’m not going to forgive you. Your confidence level goes up when you know you’re fighting an injured fighter. Is it confidence or is it cockiness?
Lopez put on his best performance in history last summer to dethrone Josh Taylor.
He’s engaged in a war of words with welterweight champion Terrence Crawford.
“If you’re saying you’re the best, and I know I’m the best, let’s make a fight. I don’t know what all the fuss is about. Boxing fans are excited. You will. I know that someday we will face off.”
Earlier this month, Lopez was called out by Devin Haney’s father and told to forget about chasing the fight with Crawford and instead face his son.
“Listen, act like you know. You can hear the money counter behind you. Act like you know, and you can have Haney vs. Lopez in a 140-pound unification fight,” Bill said. Haney said on social media.
“That’s right, baby. Just act like you got it and stop talking about Bud Crawford. You don’t want anything from Bud Crawford and he doesn’t deserve anything. Stop, I got it. “Speak like that,” Bill Haney said.
Lopez was certainly amused when this was told to him. He wondered why the No. 1 super lightweight fighter would call out to him and insist he needed to “keep calm.”
That’s not it [Haney] Who is the number one guy at 140?Didn’t he defeat the strongest man? [Regis] Progressive rock? Do you know why they call me? Because they have to stay relevant. They need to stay informed.
He also had a fight with Devin Haney, but claims he was turned down.
Lopez also revealed that he called Haney directly to set up the fight before he was fired by his rival, who defeated Prograis at 140 to become a two-division world champion.
“If a fight starts, we will respond,” he added. “I took the plunge and texted him.” [about a fight]. He said, “I’m my own boss, I don’t want to talk to you.”
“I say that’s terrible because I thought we, as adults, could make it happen. That’s how Crawford and Spence made it happen. Who really wants to fight Teofimo? You’ll see after the fight with Ortiz. I want everyone to be there because you need to feel this energy.”
But before talking about Crawford or Haney, Lopez has to focus on the job at hand. He insists he didn’t lose focus in the slightest as either opponent talked about their faces as he prepared for what he believes to be the biggest fight of his career.
“I feel great. I understand the magnitude of everything,” Lopez continued. “This is far more difficult than any other fight I’ve ever had. Not to discredit Taylor or Lomachenko, but this fight is what defines where I am now, so I think this fight is more difficult than any other. It’s just that it has meaning.
I’m studying about Jermaine Ortiz. The situation with Crawford hasn’t made me lose focus one bit, I’m a fighter who likes to fight the best and I’m just looking forward to an amazing Stampede career at the end of my life.
Lopez believes Ortiz will be his toughest fight yet despite facing Taylor and Vasily Lomachenko
“I want to take the next chapter of my life to greater heights. My goal is to be the 2024 Fighter of the Year. If you defeat the king, you are the king.” Everyone wants the crown.”
Last summer, Lopez briefly retired to spend quality time with his family, but quickly reversed his decision after the WBO threatened to strip him of the world title he won so well from Taylor.
Since then, he has rarely been in the spotlight and has had spats with big stars, including an exchange with Matchroom Boxing chief Eddie Hearn. He claimed that Lopez did not have the ability to sell more than 4,000 tickets for the event, and he did not do poorly at the box office.
Mr. Lopez fired back at Mr. Hahn, calling him a “fluke” and a “liar,” but Mr. Hahn hit back again, saying he was “deceived” and was “on another planet.”
The Brooklyn-born fighter was upset that Hearn had tried to discredit a career he had worked towards all his life, and explained their long-standing feud.
The boxer said he is the “king” of his division and wants to be the 2024 Fighter of the Year
Lopez has a feud with Eddie Hearn, who he claimed didn’t do well at the box office.
“He’s established himself in boxing so he’s lying to everyone there. Enough is enough, we need to set the record straight. I’m not mad at the guy. I’ve achieved They often lie about their accolades and box office revenue.
“When we fought last year, [Sandor] Martin, over 950,000 views on ESPN. Madison Square Garden wanted me to come back in December. I said no because I needed to spend time with my son. If I said no in 2023, not only would I have lost the venue, but in terms of viewership, I wouldn’t have even reached 500,000 views. Without Teofimo, we are in the red by 50%.
“I am who I am and I am the king of the underground because I worked hard to protect my career. Eddie Hearn’s career is something he inherited from his father. If it wasn’t for his father, he wouldn’t be where he is today. It’s nothing. Teofimo is where he is today because Teofimo made it happen.
“You’re toying with my son, because anyone who wants to lie to the media about my career is trying to hurt my son, and I’m going to take it that way.” Now is the time. It’s time for me to be respectful and humble to everyone. I’m not here for those games anymore. I can either clearly document what I’ve done, or I can just sit back and watch the entertainment happen.