Teofimo Lopez Wants Credit for the Buzz of All Young Fighters!
During his tenure within the lightweight division, the dynamic fighter Teofimo “Take Over” Lopez (16-1, 12 KO’s) certainly made a big impression on the boxing world. His visually pleasing style, fast talking and numerous knockouts quickly made him must-see TV. Having worked his way into position, Take Over staged two thrilling championship bouts against Richard Commey and then Vasiliy Lomachenko. The first he won by knockout and then by way of unanimous decision. In both instances he walked away with new hardware.
From this aspect, Lopez was a big part of the buzz and attention that the 135-pound division has garnered over the past few years. After his bout with Lomachenko however, there was a clear hiccup in the Take Over’s attitude and career. This is because following the match with Loma, Lopez presented just about every excuse imaginable for why he was not going to fight then WBC lightweight champion Devin “The Dream” Haney (28-0, 15 KO’s) to crown the undisputed champion. Instead, Take Over would fight and lose to notable underdog George Kambosos.
From the moment that Lopez defeated Lomachenko until he lost his titles to Kambosos, he fraudulently proclaimed that he was the undisputed champion at 135. This is because he held the WBA Super, WBO, IBF and WBC Franchise title. Its widely known that outside of the WBC itself, none of the other sanctioning bodies recognize Franchise status. This is also something that Lopez was well aware of.
WHAT YOU GOING TO DO NOW?!
Despite his reluctance to strive to be the true top dog of the division, and being one of several up and coming fighters, Lopez wants credit for the division being what it is today. At least this is what he took to his social media accounts to tell the world. Well actually, Take Over wants credit for leading the charge on ALL the young talent coming up in the sport today! This volley of posts came in the wake of Devin Haney’s recent victory over Kambosos to become the legitimate undisputed champion.
It will be interesting to see how the next leg of Lopez’s professional journey progresses. As previously mentioned, in his last prizefight, Lopez dropped a split decision loss to Kambosos. Rather than seek revenge in a rematch, Take Over has opted to move up to the super lightweight division. Currently it is unclear who he will fight first, yet it would behoove his professional career if he resumed backing up this tough talk in the ring and not with his Twitter fingers! Regardless of how it plays out, 3Kings Boxing will be here to report any and all relevant boxing news produced!
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By: Bakari Simpson
