Paco Valcarcel Says Teofimo Lopez Is Not Done Yet!
While it will not come as a shock to many, WBO super lightweight champion Teofimo “The Takeover” Lopez (19-1, 13 KO’s) is not retiring. Following his last victory over then WBO champion Josh Taylor, The Takeover threw the boxing world a curve-ball by saying he was hanging up the gloves. Despite his declaration, few in the boxing world, including his father and trainer, Teofimo Lopez Sr, acted as if these words never came out of his mouth. Now, WBO president Paco Valcarcel has put an end to the speculation
A CHECKERED PAST
There is no doubt that Lopez is a very talented fighter with a potentially very bright future ahead of him. While campaigning at lightweight, The Takeover claimed quality wins over Richard Commey, Vasiliy Lomachenko and was one belt shy of becoming the undisputed champion. After moving up to super lightweight, Lopez thoroughly out=boxed and outworked former undisputed champion Josh Taylor. This was even more impressive because the only reason that Taylor was not the undisputed champion was because he voluntarily relinquished the majority of his hardware.
Along with all the good, however, there is a bit of bad when it comes to The Takeover. While holding three of the four major titles at lightweight, he and his father kept fraudulently insisting they were undisputed rather than just fight Devin Haney who held the final belt. He’s maintained a somewhat turbulent relationship with his father and he admits to going through a horribly messy divorce with his wife. Furthermore, Lopez frequently has thrown his own promotional company Top Rank under the bus on several occasions.
AND THE WINNER IS?!
Now that he has committed to carrying on with his career, Lopez will certainly not lack for quality opponents. To begin, he has fellow champions Regis Prograis (WBC), Subriel Matias (IBF) and Rolando Romero (WBA). In fact, the Romero bout has a compelling built-in story line due to the two being good friends. Outside of the champions, The Takeover could pair off with social media superstar Ryan Garcia in a lucrative showdown. The most mouth watering scenario would be Haney moving up to super lightweight to become the immediate mandatory per WBO rules to take on Lopez.
Given the wealth of opposition that Lopez could pen contracts with, it only makes sense that he has chosen to fight on. It will be interesting to see who The Takeover will face next and how soon he slides back in the ring. Yet, no matter who Lopez tests his might with next, 3Kings Boxing will be here to supply all the pertinent details.
