Jose Ramirez wants Teofimo Lopez after Josh Taylor fight

By Boxing News - 04/20/2021 - Comments

By Dan Ambrose: WBC/WBO light welterweight champion Jose Ramirez says he’s contemplating whether to stay at 140 to defend all four titles against Teofimo Lopez if he defeats IBF/WBA champion Josh Taylor on May 22nd.

Ramirez (26-0, 17 KOs) and Taylor (17-0, 13 KOs) are fighting for the undisputed 140-lb championship on ESPN on May 22nd. Taylor is viewed as the favorite in that fight for good reason.

Taylor looked a lot better at beating common opponent Viktor Postol than Ramirez, who struggled to defeat the former WBC 140lb champion last August by a 12 round majority decision.

Taylor has already expressed interest in staying in the division long enough to defend against the WBO mandatory Jack Catterall and then take on the popular Teofimo (16-0, 12 KOs), who wants to move up to try and become the undisputed champion in two weight classes.

Last October, Teofimo defeated WBA/WBC Franchise/WBO 135-lb champion Vasily Lomachenko to become the undisputed lightweight champion.

Image: Jose Ramirez wants Teofimo Lopez after Josh Taylor fight

Although technically, Teofimo still hasn’t become the undisputed champion because his WBC title is a Franchise strap, given out by the sanctioning body to fighters that they like a lot.

For Teofimo to become the true undisputed champion, he still needs to beat WBC 135lb champion, Devin Haney. Nevertheless, Teofimo has been embellishing his credentials by bragging that he’s the undisputed champion, even though he’s not.

It’s amusing to hear Teofimo bending the truth about him being the undisputed champion when he clearly isn’t yet. He says it without a trace of guilt on his face.

“It depends on how my body feels,” said Jose Ramirez to Fighthype when asked if he’ll stay at 140 to fight Teofimo after the Taylor fight on May 22nd or move up to face Terence Crawford.

“I’ve been in this weight class my whole career. Maybe the Teofimo fight is starting to sound more interesting. It’s starting to excite me,” said Ramirez.

There’s money to be made for Ramirez if he stays at 140 to defend the four titles against Teofimo. If Ramirez can beat Teofimo, the New Yorker’s pride would get the better of him, and he’d push for a rematch. That would allow Ramirez to get a second big payday, which would be bigger than the first.

Moreover, staying at 140 would open the door for a fight between Ramirez and Regis Prograis and a rematch with Josh Taylor. Ramirez can take endless nice payday fights before moving up to 147 to challenge WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford.

By the time Ramirez exhausts all the big money fights, he can get at 140, Crawford likely won’t be the WBO champion any longer. Either Errol Spence Jr or Vergil Ortiz Jr will have snatched the WBO strap away from the aging Crawford when Ramirez eventually moves up to 147.

“I heard him [Teofimo]  say that he believes Taylor is going to win, but there’s a difference between what he believes and who he wants,” said Ramirez.

“He might have a reason why he’s saying that. He might feel that Taylor is an easier fight for him than I am.”

It could be that Teofimo realizes that Ramirez has the wrong style for him, particularly with his high punch output. Teofimo is basically a six-round fighter with poor stamina.

Image: Jose Ramirez wants Teofimo Lopez after Josh Taylor fight

A guy like Ramirez would be all wrong for him because he throws so many punches, and he doesn’t allow his opponent to rest. We saw how fatigued the 23-year-old Teofimo was in his fight with Vasily Lomachenko last October.

It was like the ages of the two fighters were reversed, with Lomachenko being the young guy and Teofimo the 33-year-old.

“The more he [Teofimo Lopez] says that I’m going to move up to 147 and speak on my behalf, the more I’m going to stay at 140,” said Ramirez. I might stay at 140 just to face him. I’m not afraid of Teofimo Lopez at all.”

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