Promoter Bob Arum said Teofimo Lopez is interested in moving up to 147 pounds and challenging Brian Norman Jr. for the WBO welterweight title, after which Teofimo would head to a bout with Terence Crawford.
Teofimo Sr. would have to agree.
Teofimo's father, Lopez Sr., would have to agree to a fight with Norman Jr. (26-0, 23 KOs) because he is dangerous and may be too powerful and tough for Teofimo, who tends to buckle under pressure.
Lopez, 26, has the build to fight a normal junior at welterweight because that's where he is already at. Teofimo looked like a skeleton today at the weigh-in for his bout against veteran Steve Clagett this Saturday night.
Teofimo looks like a junior middleweight in his recent training and should be fighting at 147 or 154, but that probably won't happen as he doesn't have the same advantage at those weight classes as he does at 140. Like Devin Haney, much of Teofimo's career success has come from being bigger than his opponents.
Lopez's Ambition
Teofimo (20-0, 13 KOs) told media this week that he would like to fight Crawford at either 147 or 154 pounds. He said he doesn't want to fight the 36-year-old Bud now because he doesn't want to fight him much longer.
Lopez said he wants to fight Crawford and then return to the 140-pound division to face Gervonta Davis, and while Tank hasn't said he wants to fight him, he seems confident of victory.
Teofimo will defend his WBO light welterweight title against Claggett (38-7-2, 26 KOs) this Saturday night, June 29th, at the James L. Knight Center in Miami, Florida. Many fans consider this a surefire way to put Teofimo in the spotlight.
Alm's Viewpoint
“Lopez has fought his whole career and I think there are a lot of big fights for him, but the Claggett fight is not an easy fight for him,” Bob Arum told FightHype when asked about Teofimo Lopez wanting to move up to 147 or 154 pounds to fight Terence Crawford.
“I think it's going to be a good match. [Crawford] The matches are about to begin, with the first being Teofimo versus Brian Norman in the WBO welterweight division at 147 pounds.
“I don't know much about Claggett, but he's a tough kid. I think he'll give Lopez a really good fight. I think Lopez is one of the top fighters right now,” Arum said.
