Teofimo Lopez wants to fight Terence Crawford at catchweight after defeating Ortiz
‘The Takeover’ is looking for a new opponent after a controversial win decision and the Nebraska-bred star is the chosen one.
Teofimo Lopez didn’t have a pleasant night against Jamaine Ortiz, but he managed to get a controversial unanimous decision win over The Technician in Las Vegas.
The 26-year-old fighter didn’t perform as expected but he did enough to secure the 20th win of his career, according to the judges, who had it 117-111, 115-113, and 115-113 in favor of Lopez.
While against Josh Taylor, El Brooklyn looked sharp and dangerous, against Ortiz he showed a vulnerable game, as it previously happened in the fight against Sandor Martin. Lopez landed only 78 punches against Ortiz, who has now tasted defeat twice as a professional after losing to Vasiliy Lomachenko in 2022.
Lopez vs Crawford next?
After securing the victory, Lopez didn’t hesitate to admit what his plans were from now on. The 2015 Golden Gloves gold medalist said Terence Crawford is his next objective:
“Glory is next for me. None of these guys want to fight me. I’ll fight [Terence] Crawford at a catchweight. I’m here. I’m ready. I’ve always been ready. I’m younger, prettier, and a two-time unified champion at 25″.
“I tried my best for the people. I even tried to box going backward and he didn’t want to commit”, he added.
The undefeated Crawford (40-0), however, doesn’t seem very interested in the idea of facing Teofimo. “F**k Teo”, he said to Fight Hub TV when asked about that possibility before Lopez’s fight.
Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia: other options
While it seems unlikely to see Lopez and Crawford get into the ring anytime soon, Lopez has the charisma and the cache to go for other big fights.
One of them is the super lightweight champion Devin Haney. And Lopez didn’t reject the idea of taking on The Dream soon if there’s a chance of making it happen.
“Maybe we will do a unification bout. That’s up to them on their side”, he stated.
Boxing rising star Ryan Garcia is also an attractive option for The Takeover. The 25-year-old Garcia is a very charismatic boxer and a fight against him could do the numbers.
Moreover, Garcia has only lost once in his career, against Gervonta Davis, but he managed to get back to winning ways after a KO win over big puncher Oscar Duarte in December.