The assumption has been that Teofimo Lopez would move up to 140 pounds whether he wins, loses or draws in his lightweight tile-unification fight with Vasiliy Lomachenko.
Lopez has admittedly had trouble making the 135-pound limit. However, after the Lomachenko fight, tentatively set for Oct. 3, there are many big fights to be made in the division. Lopez could potentially square off with rising stars Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia and Gervonta Davis.
Lopez said on DAZN’s “Boxing with Chris Mannix” that he would be willing to stay at lightweight if fights against those names could materialize.
“Absolutely,” Lopez said. “I think with the Richard Commey fight, I made weight very easy. I didn’t expect it to be that easy. I know I can definitely make 135 again very smooth.
“I just need to make sure ‘Little Diva’ (Lomachenko) isn’t hiding in Egis’ (Klimas, Lomachenko’s manager) room in his guest house during this quarantine because he’s out there right now. People think he’s in Ukraine, but he’s not. He’s in [Los Angeles]. He’s back.
With those names mentioned, along with Lopez and Lomachenko, the lightweight division has become one of the most star-studded weight classes. And should Lopez defeat arguably the best fighter pound-for-pound to become the unified champion, then “The Lopez Era” will be underway.
“You have Shakur Stevenson, Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia, ‘Tank Davis,” Lopez said. “The list goes on and on. These guys all have something, some type of attribute that makes the fans want to see them more. I’m very happy to be in that era now.
“Teofimo Lopez is the one that’s definitely going to take over. How we’re going to start, it is with this guy (Lomachenko) on Oct. 3.”