Teofimo Lopez called out WBA light welterweight champion Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz, saying he wants him next after successfully defending his WBO 140-lb title last Saturday night with a one-sided twelve-round unanimous decision over Steve Claggett in Miami, Florida.
Lopez Wants ‘Pitbull’ Cruz Next
Teofimo (21-1, 13 KOs) might want to defend higher against ‘Pitbull Cruz than he did against Claggett (38-8-2, 26 KOs) since the challenger hit him quite a bit of their twelve-round fight. At the top of the fight, Lopez had swelling over each eyes and looked like he’d been through a war on the James L. Knight Center.
The scores were 120-108, 120-108, and 119-109.
Pitbull Cruz is defending his WBA 140-lb title against Jose ‘Rayo’ Valenzuela on August third on the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. There’s no guarantee that Pitbull will win that fight, but when he’s victorious, he could be desirous about a battle with Teofimo.
The issue with that fight is that it will be a dual broadcast match involving Amazon Prime Video and ESPN. That’s not a great deal for either network, so it doesn’t make sense because Cruz vs. Lopez isn’t a sufficiently big fight.
“I don’t care how I look. So long as my hand gets raised at the top of it,” said a beat-up-looking Teofimo Lopez to the media last Saturday night after his win over stay-busy opponent Steve Claggett in Miami.
Arum’s Disappointment and Teofimo’s Future
“Bob [Arum] said I did well. He didn’t look too completely satisfied. F*** it. I’m your only last star available,” said Teofimo about his promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank. “You bought to cope with it.”
It’s comprehensible why Arum wouldn’t be pleased with how Teofimo fought against Claggett. This was a showcase fight through which he was alleged to look sensational, but he didn’t and got banged up.
The performance highlighted what many consider to be the case: the 26-year-old Teofimo isn’t the fighter he once was and doesn’t have the talent to beat the top-level fighters at 140 or 147 if he moves up in weight.
Arum had talked this week about wanting Teofimo to maneuver as much as welterweight to challenge Brian Norman Jr. for the WBO title. But after Teofimo’s effort against Claggett, Arum must know that if he makes that fight, Norman will destroy him and wreck his profession or what’s left.
Arum needs to be pondering of an exit strategy for Teofimo because he’s subsidizing his fights, but he doesn’t have the talent or the fan base to justify his continuing to prop him up with gimmes.
The legendary promoter Arum has got to dump this albatross Teofimo as fast as possible because he can’t swim with the sharks. Tossing him in with Brian Norman Jr. (26-0, 23 KOs) can be ideal for ridding him of this problem.
“F*** yeah, I’m ready for it,” said Lopez when asked if he desires to fight WBA light welterweight champion Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz next. “I’m 26. I’m still learning on this game.”
If Teofimo is just too chicken to maneuver as much as challenge Norman Jr. for the WBO welterweight title, Arum must make the very best possible match-up. Keyshawn Davis or Raymond Muratalla can be excellent fights for Arum to make against Teofimo, and it helps launch the careers of those two fighters.
Lopez Challenges Crawford
“Yes, I do,” said Lopez when asked if he desired to fight Terence Crawford. “No one goes to fight like Steve Claggett. There’s just one fighter that’s going to fight like him a bit bit, and he’s smaller, and that’s Pitbull Cruz. Apart from that, no other fighter fights that way in any respect. All of them box.”
There’s no likelihood that Teofimo will get a fight against Crawford because he’s fighting at 154, and is being positioned for a big-money cash-out fight against superstar Canelo Alvarez in early 2025, provided he wins his fight on August third against WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov.
“Crawford boxes. He doesn’t really slug in there. I do most of these fights for a reason,” said Lopez, justifying his decision to face Claggett.
