Terence Crawford Says Jamaine Ortiz Exposed Teofimo Lopez
The reaction was swift and loud about Teofimo “The Takeover” Lopez’s (20-0,13 KOs) disputed victory over Jamaine Ortiz to retain the WBO junior welterweight title on February 8 in Las Vegas. One person who was far from impressed with the performance of The Takeover was the reigning unified welterweight champion, Terence “Bud” Crawford.
NOT ON HIS LEVEL
Crawford is the type of person who keeps his eyes on all fighters in and around his weight range. Following Lopez’s win, Bud went to social media with a blistering series of comments toward the 140-pound champion, including his estimation that Lopez didn’t deserve the verdict over Ortiz.
The unified welterweight champion is in the 3kingsboxing.com’s Top Ten fighter rankings. Bud is a fighter with an immense set of skills. His ring IQ is arguably higher than anyone in the sport.
STEP YOUR GAME UP
Lopez is a talented fighter in his own right. But the contest against Ortiz showed that The Takeover has more than a few flaws. The junior welterweight champion tends to leave himself open when he attacks.
His jab is relatively weak. Too often, he relies solely on his athleticism to overwhelm foes. Lopez has problems whenever he faces someone who is a disciplined boxer with good movement.
It was a similar situation for Lopez during his disputed victory over Sandor Martin in December 2022. If you are struggling against the likes of Ortiz and Martin, one could only imagine the difficulty Lopez would face dealing with the elite boxing skills that Crawford brings to the table.
While making the rounds with the media before the fight with Ortiz, Lopez told anyone within listening distance that he wanted to fight Crawford. However, the fight against Ortiz suggests he’s not ready for Crawford and would be ruthlessly exposed.
