Teofimo Lopez, the WBO super-lightweight champion, thinks Gervonta Davis is the only boxer who could beat him. Lopez shared this opinion on the 'Come And Talk 2 Me' podcast, saying Davis "could knock me out."
Lopez, 27, has made a name for himself as one of the best 140lb fighters around. He grabbed the WBO super-lightweight belt from Josh Taylor in June 2023, handing the Scot his first loss. Since then, he's defended his title twice, beating Jamaine Ortiz and Steve Claggett on points.
Before moving up in weight, Lopez had a setback. He lost his unified lightweight titles to George Kambosos Jr. But that didn't stop him from climbing back to the top.
Now, Lopez is looking for a big fight. He's got his eye on Devin Haney (the champion in recess), Liam Paro, or Jose Valenzuela. He's so confident, he's even said he'd knock out Terence Crawford, who many see as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters.
But when it comes to Gervonta Davis, Lopez shows a bit more caution. On the Come And Talk 2 Me podcast, he said:
"I would say that [fight] doesn't enter the championship rounds. Someone is getting knocked out. May the best man win. I have to give him a fair chance."
Despite this praise, Lopez doesn't think Davis has proven himself fully yet. He said:
"If you really look at it, look at the resume, there is a certain limit that you hit and then there is that next criteria and next tier, if you don't match that you don't know how great that is. I've done that already, I have jumped out of that box. I have yet to see Gervonta come out of that box yet. They're about to put him with a guy at 130lbs. Whether he is a champion or not, a guy lighter than you comes up in weight to make you look good. Don't get me wrong, he has skills but to what level. He hasn't hit the A-class yet. I'm A class."
Lopez was referring to Davis's upcoming fight with Lamont Roach, which the WBA just announced. He thinks this matchup is set up to make Davis look good.
As the boxing world waits to see if Lopez and Davis will ever face off, both fighters continue to make waves in their divisions. Lopez's confidence is clear, but he's smart enough to know that in boxing, anything can happen.