Teofimo Lopez, the WBO super-lightweight champion, is eager to fight Terence Crawford before Crawford potentially faces Canelo Alvarez. Lopez's desire comes as Crawford, now a four-weight world champion, pursues a bout with Alvarez at super-middleweight.
Crawford recently moved up to 154lbs and won the WBA title at super-welterweight by defeating Israil Madrimov. He's now willing to jump up two more weight classes to face Alvarez. While some see this as a mismatch due to the size difference, others believe Crawford's skills could give Alvarez trouble.
Lopez and Crawford clashed at ringside during Canelo's victory over Edgar Berlanga in September, fueling their ongoing feud. Lopez has made bold claims about how a fight between them would go. In an interview with FightHype, he predicted:
"I'll stop Crawford in the ninth round. I need to break him down."
Lopez also shared his thoughts on the potential Canelo-Crawford matchup. Speaking to BoxingScene, he said:
"Canelo is too big for Crawford. He's too strong and used to that weight class. Crawford's just going for a money grab, a money fight. Canelo is the face of boxing."
The super-lightweight champion wants to face Crawford sooner rather than later. He explained his urgency to iD Boxing:
"I'd rather go after the guy with too much of an ego and that's Terence Crawford. He's doing that [Canelo fight] so he can get one more bag and then be like I'm out, I did everything."
The bad blood between Crawford and Lopez continues to simmer, with Crawford recently firing back at his rival. As both fighters eye big matchups, fans will have to wait and see if they'll settle their differences in the ring.
