Both Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford have little to prove at this point. Essentially, outside of a few up-comers, the two have cleared out the welterweight division.
With the pair being viewed as the best fighters at 147 pounds, it was only right that they face off. Their fight contract is constructed as such that it’s likely that they’ll meet two consecutive times. From there, the winner could either move up to 154 pounds or look to possibly face Jaron Ennis.
The options aren’t plentiful but there’s another fighter that might be willing to throw their name into the mix.
“My son does better with the bigger dudes,” said Teofimo Lopez Sr. when asked if his offspring could make the audacious move up in weight. “My son has been sparring these big dudes since he was 13, 14 years old. That’s when I knew he was gonna be a star. We can go into a fight with a big dude.”
His words might come off as hubris laden but his son did prove that, at least to a certain extent, he can operate just fine against a bigger guy.
Josh Taylor was not only towered over Lopez but from the outside looking in, appeared to be the more physically stronger man. Oddsmakers took notice of it all and pegged him as the favorite ahead of their June showdown. Lopez though, was stoic during the lead-up, come fight night, he was bombastic.
Lopez boxed and at times, brawled his way to a unanimous decision victory against the former 140-pound kingpin. Transient retirement aside, the 25-year-old is now pondering his next move.
Although he hasn’t been there long, Lopez Sr. believes that if his son truly wanted, he could make a ton of noise at 147 pounds. This Saturday night, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, Spence and Crawford will battle it out for undisputed glory.
Moving up in weight and fighting for every major title at 147 pounds is an intriguing option for Team Lopez. While there’s still plenty to do in the super lightweight division, Lopez Sr. did admit that making the fearless jump is something he’s thinking about.
“My son carries a punch. That’s what these young dudes don’t have. From the young guys, my son is the only one that can carry that punch to the 147, 154-pound division. The bigger you are, the easier it is for us. We can go up to 147 no problem but we have to do our thing first at 140.”