Via Jim Calfa: Teofimo Lopez jumped to #1 ahead of Jack Catterall in the WBO rankings at number 140, to #2, pushing Brit down to #3 in the rankings. 1st place is taken by undefeated Liam Paro (22-0, 13 KOs).
Due to the World Boxing Organization’s new designation for Catterall, former four-belt lightweight champion Teofimo (16-1, 12 KOs) thinks he could soon face Australian Paro for the WBO title 140-lb soon after. Josh Taylor Leave the strap blank.
Won’t make some boxing fans happy as recently defeated 24-year-old Teofimo Lopez can hit the world title in his first bout aged 140, but he won’t turn down the fight. .
British boxing fans won’t be happy to see Catterall dropped from the No. 1 ranking and replaced by Paro, but that’s the norm when a number one boxer loses.
Given Teofimo’s strength, speed, and size, he’ll have a great chance to defeat little-known Liam Paro, who has battled major opposition throughout his six-year professional career. he is in Australia.
Recently, Paro has been up against the competition Yoma Alamo (20-1-1, 13 KOs) of Puerto Rico and barely beat him in the 12th round decision last December.
The way Paro struggled to beat Alamo suggests that he probably wouldn’t stand any chance of defeating a much better boxer like Teofimo.
Taylor (19-0, 13 KOs) was ready to vacate her four light heavyweight titles to move up to 147 in pursuit of the world title in that weight class.
Josh felt that after his subpar performance against Catterall (26-1, 13 KOs) on February 26, it was too difficult for him to gain weight for the 140-lb class.
Taylor defeated Catterall with a controversial 12-round decision in a match that many in the boxing world felt should have gone the other way.
Rather than settle the controversy by giving Catterall a rematch at 140, Taylor is leaning toward vacating her four titles in favor of moving up to par to challenge WBO champion Terence Crawford, potentially.
Catterall’s decisive defeat in the last 12 rounds at the hands of undisputed lightweight champion Josh Taylor proved to be dominant, as he is now out of the ring and has been overtaken by Teofimo .
If Catterall wants another title, he’ll have to get busy and start winning again as he won’t have a chance to fight for the 140-lb WBO world title once Taylor vacates the belt for months. next.
Teofimo is still recovering from an injury in training camp for his final game against George Kambosos Jr last November. Teofimo has been promoted to Top Rank so is ready to return to the ring soon to fight for the vacant 140-lb WBO title.
It’s not clear why Josh Taylor hasn’t vacated his four lightweight titles yet. Some have suggested that he may be having a second thought on the idea of going up to 147 after the way he performed before Catterall.
While his low performance is due to a weight problem, that may not be the case. Taylor looked unsettled in his narrow win over Regis Prograis in 2019 and he struggled in his win over Jose Ramirez in 2021.
The Scottish boxer won the bouts, but it wasn’t the kind of performance that showed he could beat top heavyweights like Crawford, Errol Spence Jr. or Yordenis Ugas.
Even candidates Keith Thurman, Jaron Ennis, and Vergil OrtizJr at 147 have the ability to beat Taylor and do it convincingly. Chances are Taylor’s promotion to the weight class will end in failure.
WBO top 10 at 140
1 Liam Paro
2 Teofimo Lopez
3 Jack Catterall
4 Jose Carlos Ramirez
5 Jose Zepeda
6 Arnold Barboza, Jr.
7 Regis . programs
8 Sam Maxwell
9 Danielito Zorrilla
10 Tyrone McKenna
