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By: Hans Themistode
As of late, Teofimo Lopez spends a lot of his time hitting the speed bag, working with sparring partners and talking with his father/head trainer, Teofimo Lopez Sr. The 23-year-old is set to return to the ring on June 19th, against George Kambosos Jr. to defend his undisputed lightweight crown.
Yet, despite how serious Lopez is taking him, he’s broken away from the mundane routine of camp life to enjoy a historical fight.
Later on tonight at the Virgins Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, WBC/WBO super lightweight champion Jose Ramirez takes on IBF, WBA and Ring Magazine titlist Josh Taylor. As Lopez gets comfortable in his seat from ringside, he admits that his journey to Vegas isn’t all fun and games. Instead, it’s more of a business trip.
“Yes,” said Lopez during an interview with ESNews when asked if he wants to face the winner of tonight’s undisputed showdown. “That’s what it’s all about, chasing the glory and making more history. Becoming a two-time, undisputed world champion back to back.”
The list of undisputed belt holders is a short one. With that said, Lopez can enter a class of his own if he successfully moves up in weight to become an undisputed champion once again.
In October of 2020, Lopez pulled off arguably the upset of the year as he out-boxed and outmuscled former unified lightweight titlist, Vasiliy Lomachenko. Going into their bout, most observers viewed Lopez as talented but far too young to truly test the Ukrainian. Regardless of the doubts, Lopez told everyone who would listen that he had what it took to get the job done.
Now, with Ramirez playing the underdog role tonight, Lopez isn’t counting him out either. While he may have refrained from making an official pick, he did point out that Ramirez is more than capable of pulling off an upset win of his own.
“Josh Taylor and Jose Ramirez have all the tools to become undisputed tonight. You have a boxer and someone who has a lot of heart and grit. I don’t think people should overlook Jose Ramirez. A lot of folks are voting for Josh Taylor because of his movement and the southpaw stance but I guess we’ll all see tonight.”
