The 4 Best Opponents for Teofimo Lopez After Win vs. Josh Taylor
Well, that was unexpected.
Though it wasn't inconceivable Teofimo Lopez could compete with and even defeat a fighter of Josh Taylor's caliber on Saturday night in New York City, let's just say the optics he was presenting going in weren't ideal.
He'd barely beaten gatekeeper Sandor Martin in his previous appearance, and the awkward back-and-forth with his own father during a fight-week interview with ESPN's Mark Kriegel left people wondering if his psychological state was appropriate to handle the task.
But over 12 rounds with the previously unbeaten Scotsman, all doubts were allayed.
Lopez earned a two-point margin on two scorecards and a more feasible six-point edge on a third to both lift Taylor's 140-pound title claim and reestablish himself as a star.
The 25-year-old had climbed that ladder with a stirring defeat of Vasiliy Lomachenko three years ago to become the undisputed champion at lightweight, but he lost those belts in his next fight at 135 and hadn't seemed close to that form in two subsequent wins at 140.
Upon picking its collective jaw off the floor, the B/R combat team got to the business of forecasting the next move for Lopez in his renewed quest to take over the sport. Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought or two of your own in the comments.
A 20-Something Exit
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Just for the record, no. We don't believe it either.
But there it was in digital black and white on Instagram shortly after Saturday's fight, taking the form of a post from Lopez in which he said: "What a relief! Retired at the Top."
The post accompanied a photo of him as a child along with his father and included the words "Thank you Boxing for the amazing life you've provided."
Just 25 years old and a veteran of only 20 pro fights, Lopez doubled-down on the statements at a post-fight media gathering, where he told reporters: "I might retire after this one. Retirement man. I'm kind of tired. I'm not getting paid enough.
"A million dollars? Get the f--k out of here. I need to take a break, I'm tired of everyone bullying me. I'm young, I'm a kid at heart. I think y'all need to go after the Devin Haneys, Shakur (Stevensons), the Tyson Furys and all that."
Is it possible he walks away at the top? Sure.
But it's far more likely just a compelling prelude to a high-profile return.
Devin Haney
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It's a big fight. And unlike many others these days, it shouldn't be hard to make.
Both Lopez and Devin Haney have been promoted by Bob Arum's Top Rank Boxing conglomerate, which makes the suggestion that undisputed lightweight king Haney climb five pounds to face his former titleholding contemporary at 140 perfectly reasonable.
Lopez was a four-belt champion at 135 pounds after defeating Lomachenko in 2020 but lost the straps to Kambosos, whom Haney then defeated twice to capture and retain the belts before defeating Lomachenko in another defense last month.
Haney has long suggested that making 135 is too much of a struggle to continue, and Arum said during the Lopez-Taylor run-up that he'd be presenting Team Haney with three options for the next outing—the first of which was a title shot at the Lopez-Taylor winner.
And if you're searching for early trash-talk material for the would-be fight, look no further than Lopez's claim that he thought Haney would lose to Lomachenko because "I don't think Devin's got that dog in him."
Gentlemen, start your vitriol.
Ryan Garcia
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Ryan Garcia is in need of reinvention.
The previously unbeaten Golden Boy 2.0 was stopped by Gervonta Davis in their pay-per-view headliner earlier this year and immediately said he'd be climbing to 140 pounds to seek big fights with bigger opponents.
And conveniently enough, an old rival is suddenly as big as it gets.
Garcia and Lopez long had one another's names in their mouths during the days both fought at 135, and now that the former is a full-timer at 140 and the latter has become the division's highest-profile champion, what better time to renew old antagonist acquaintances?
Garcia claimed to want a fight with Lopez last year, but Lopez quickly threw shade at the idea with a suggestion that Garcia was simply making the call-out to keep his name relevant.
"That could be a publicity stunt to keep Ryan up in the feeds," Lopez told Fight Hub TV. "Everyone is watching me. Come on, guys. You've got to think outside the box. So I'm not going to believe it until I see the contract."
As for that contract, promoter Bob Arum said it ought to be simple to negotiate.
"If (promoter Oscar De La Hoya) comes to me and says let's talk business," he told Fight Hype TV, "then given our past relationships, I think it would be relatively easy to make that fight."
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Regis Prograis
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All of a sudden, Regis Prograis is the senior champion at 140.
The New Orleans-based boxer/puncher owned the WBA's slice of the weight-class pie before a loss to Josh Taylor in 2020, but he returned to capture the WBC portion when the Scot vacated while discussing a possible move to welterweight.
And now that Taylor has lost his final claim to supremacy, Prograis is the veteran.
He's not gone the distance in four fights since the Taylor loss and only one foe has gotten past six rounds. He'll try to extend the win streak to five when he faces 20th-ranked challenger Danielito Zorrilla this weekend, and it's a pretty strong bet that he'll have Lopez on his mind if he's able to get through the fight with his championship status in tact.
There's already been indirect enmity built between he and Lopez thanks to his pre-fight claim that Lopez wasn't gritty enough to handle Taylor. For his part, Lopez has claimed in the past that Prograis issues high-profile callouts because he knows the would-be opponents won't be willing to take the short end of a 65/35 purse split.
"I'm shaking my head because this guy is just getting comfortable because he feels like no one is going to want to fight him," Lopez told Sirius XM. "So he's going to fight someone that is going to be volunteering to face. Someone probably in the top 15, someone that people probably don't even know."
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