WBO super-lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez has posted a sparring clip where he got the better of a fellow 140lb champion, as ‘The Takeover’ seeks to continue his success and become a unified title-holder in a second weight division.
Lopez defeated long-reigning poster boy of the division Josh Taylor last year but is yet to fight since in a division where the top competitors appear reluctant to face one another.
There are few that understand those frustrations as much as WBA champion Rolly Romero, who was recently linked to a clash against Ryan Garcia, but Garcia’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya has now declared that the fight is off as a result of Romero pricing himself out.
On social media, Lopez shared a video of him sparring and almost dropping Romero back in 2017, as he informed De La Hoya that he will have similar success if the pair ever cross paths in a professional fight.
“Don’t worry Oscar De La Hoya, if it comes to it I’ll handle this fake champ like I did in 2017! #HowDareYouDisrespectTheLegend #RevengeOnRolly.”
Don’t worry @OscarDeLaHoya if it comes to it I’ll handle this fake champ like I did back in 2017! #HowDareYouDisrespectTheLegend#RevengeOnRollypic.twitter.com/jzm5F90TgE
— Teofimo Lopez (@TeofimoLopez) January 23, 2024
For now, any such fight would have to wait, as Lopez is scheduled to defend his title against Jamaine Ortiz on Super Bowl weekend in Las Vegas, in just three week’s time.
If victorious, Lopez is expected to pursue a unification bout against any of Subriel Matias [IBF], Devin Haney [WBC] and Romero [WBA], although he has also threatened to move up to 147lbs if a fight with Terence Crawford can be made.
Meanwhile, Romero is set to move on from the Garcia debacle and is poised to take on either Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz or fulfil his mandatory and rematch Ismael Barroso, who he controversially defeated for the vacant WBA belt last year.