Via Craig Daly: Teofimo Lopez is next in line for WBC lightweight lightweight champion Regis ‘Rougarou’ Prograis after mandatory No. 1 contender Jose Ramirez denied his mandatory title shot due to his displeasure. pleased with the payout ratio 65-35 in favor of the champion.
Teofimo (18-1, 13 KOs) will need to make a quick decision on whether he’s interested in challenging Prograis (28-1, 24 KOs) for his WBC belt.
Last week, 25-year-old former unified lightweight champion Teofimo said he wanted to be the challenger to Prograis for the title instead of the higher-ranked Ramirez. Teofimo mentions that he will talk to promoter Bob Arum about it because he wants to take on Prograis next.
Now that Ramirez has declined to take part in the match against Prograis, this is a great opportunity for Teofimo to achieve what he says he wants by challenging the WBC belt.
If Teofimo also rejects the fight against Prograis, fans will know that he doesn’t want that smoke and probably never will. In Teofimo’s two matches at 140 against Sandor Martin and Pedro Campa, he didn’t look like he was fit for the division.
Teo didn’t dominate in his new weight class against the Top Rated mid-ranger who went up against him. If he can’t overwhelm these guys, he won’t do well against upper-class fighters like Prograis and Josh Taylor.
Teofimo has a tough decision to make
“Regis is fighting him [Jose Ramirez]. I want my fight. Give me Prograis,” Teofimo Lopez told The state of boxing on ESPN+ last week in reaction to being told by ESPN hosts that Jose Ramirez was first in line to challenge Regis Prograis for his WBC lightweight title.
“I have to call Bob [Arum]. I have to call Bob for this. I have to see him tomorrow because it’s ridiculous. If I’m fighting for these belts, give me my belt now. This is the takeover. Don’t run away from me,Teofimo talks about Prograis.
Although it seems like Teofimo wants to fight Prograis, he has been silent since yesterday when he learned that Jose Ramirez turned down the match. If Teofimo wanted to go to war with Prograis, he would have spoken out right now on social media, but he didn’t.
“140 is different. It only weighs 5 pounds, but that’s a huge difference because those 140 pounds are walking at 160, 155,” Andre Ward told ESPN of Teofimo Lopez after his controversial win. before Sandor Martin.
“The occult is off. Courageous as boxers, sometimes it’s a mystery that a guy goes up a few rounds on the basis of fame, right after the last knockout they see you win,” Ward continued.
“He is [Teofimo] now there are shows back where people say, ‘God, maybe he’s not as good as we thought.’ Now, they are bolder and will be harder to beat.”
“Sandor Martin doesn’t necessarily win instantly. He just had to do enough to make sure Teofimo didn’t look great, and he would be questioned. He’s done so much more because he dropped him,” ESPN’s Bernardo Osuna said of Teofimo’s fight with Sandor.
“I think the bravery he showed, fighting through that broken nose and the fact that he told us, ‘My two advantages are my heart and my mind.’ It was proven right against Teofimo.”
“I really hate hearing people say, ‘This guy’s running.’ You hear it too often. Mike Coppinger said. “No, friend [Teofimo] has been outboxed. You’ve been outboxed by a guy who knows what he’s doing. One capable, one capable just defeated Mikey Garcia.”
