By Jim Calfa: Teofimo Lopez Sr. says he wants undisputed 140-lb champion Josh Taylor next for his son Teofimo Jr. and then Devin Haney. Surprisingly, Teofimo Lopez Sr. was voted ‘Trainer of the Year’ for 2020.
Teofimo Sr. said on Thursday that his son was sick with a hole in his throat and chest during his loss to George Kambosos Jr. last month on November 27th in New York, and he was too ill to fight the way he needed to for him to come out victorious.
It’s questionable whether the former undisputed lightweight champion Teofimo (16-1, 12 KOs) will be able to get either of the fights that his father wants for him next year.
Taylor (18-0, 13 KOs), who holds all four belts at 140, has nothing to gain now fighting Teofimo. The same applies to the unbeaten Haney (27-0, 15 KOs).
Of the two, Haney would be more likely willing to fight Teofimo because he needs a win over him to increase his popularity and to show the boxing public that he has the talent to beat a high-caliber opponent.
Teofimo Sr. wants Josh Taylor next for Teo
“Show it to them, and we did it fast in sixteen fights,” said Teofimo Lopez Sr. to ESNEWS on being voted as Trainer of the Year for 2020.
“They’re their own people, they do what they want to do, but that fight [Gervonta Davis vs. Isaac Cruz] was very close with a guy that wasn’t even a contender and was a last moment’s notice that he had to fight,” said Teofimo Sr. on Tank Davis fighting Pitbull Cruz last Sunday night.
“I’m not hating on nobody, but there are a lot of things you need to do in the ring, and we’re going to show the whole world, man. And we got big fights coming up.
“We can fight Devin; we can fight Tank. Yeah, we can do it,” said Teofimo Sr. when asked if he wants to make a fight between Teo and Devin Haney at 140.
“The kid is growing too fast, but we got to get the four belts first. We want Josh Taylor next. People are going to see what my son is all about,” said Teofimo Sr.
Next year, we’ll see if Teofimo can get Taylor or Haney to fight him in 2022. But even if they don’t, Teofimo needs to stay busy and try to fight three times at the minimum.
These would be good options for Teofimo at 140:
- Regis Prograis
- Jose Ramirez
- George Kambosos Jr
- Shakhram Giyasov
- Gary Antuanne Russell
- Sandor Martin
- Jeremias Ponce
- Viktor Postol
- Jose Zepeda
- Jose Pedraza
If Teofimo wants to be a world champion at 140, he’ll need to prove that he can beat these types of fighters in the weight class.
The loss will make Teofimo stronger
“How can you fight with a hole in your chest and a hole in your throat?” said Teofimo Sr. on Teo fighting with injuries for his last title defense against George Kambosos Jr., which he lost on November 27th.
“That wasn’t my son inside the ring. We have different styles. He only used one because he couldn’t do nothing else. And he couldn’t bend down; he couldn’t move to the side. We was getting sick and sicker.
“I don’t worry about that. This is going to make us stronger,” said Teofimo Sr. on Teo’s disappointing loss to Kambosos. “When they took it away from us in the Olympics.
“Now, they took it away from us in the pros. How we came, we came stronger after the Olympics. He won’t let that happen again, trust me. We’ll be the first male boxers to win back to back undisputed,” said Teofimo Sr.
It remains to be seen whether Teofimo’s loss to Kambosos will make him stronger.
Right now, the perception is that the loss had made Teofimo weaker, considering he chose to reject the offer from Kambosos when he offered to give him a rematch.