Teofimo Lopez says he wants to fight Terence Crawford after he defeats his pupil Shakur Stevenson on January 31st.
WBO 140-lb champion Lopez says he’ll be ready to move up three weight classes to meet Crawford at 160 after he defeats Shakur.
Shakur Seen as a Tune-Up
Turki Alalshikh would have to be on board with that idea. With Crawford wanting $100 million for his fights now, he may have priced himself out of future cards. He’s not going to get that kind of money fighting Teofimo Lopez.
If Crawford is talking crazy, stubbornly insisting on $100M or nothing, why would Turki want to placate that? There are better fights out there with more entertaining talent like Jaron Ennis or Gary Antuanne Russell.
Terence will have to put his feet back down on solid ground because there’s not that kind of money in that smaller fight, as neither of them is a proven PPV attraction.
Shakur’s Mentor Pressure
“Crawford sent out one of his little guys to finish the job, and I think that’s not going to work,” said Teofimo Lopez to InsideRingShow, talking about Shakur Stevenson. “I’m still going to be here, and if he’s still going to be in boxing, I’d love to face him right after.”
It would be a hard loss for Crawford to take watching Shakur lose to Lopez on January 31st. Shakur has patterned his fighting style after Crawford, who is a mentor to him, and it would be a bitter pill for the Nebraska native to swallow watching him get beaten.
A Revenge Angle for Bud
A revenge-type angle would make Crawford-Teofimo a sellable fight. But Turki would have go along with this idea, as there would still be a lot of interest in a second fight between Lopez and Stevenson. If Teo obliterates him, Shakur will be talking up a storm on social media, hounding him for a rematch, and who knows what kind of scenario he’d come up with to explain away the loss.
“He is the guy, he is the man of boxing. I think if he could go up three weight divisions to fight Canelo Alvarez, why can’t Teofimo go up two weight classes or three to face Terence Crawford,” said Lopez.