By: Hans Themistode
Teofimo Lopez was in awe as he sat in his ringside seat.
The unified 135-pound titlist was thoroughly impressed as he witnessed history at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, this past weekend. On the night, Canelo Alvarez would go on to solve a trickier than expected puzzle in former IBF super middleweight champion, Caleb Plant. With the win, Alvarez became the first undisputed 168-pound titlist of all time.
With Lopez scheduled to defend his WBA, WBO, and IBF super lightweight world titles against mandatory challenger George Kambosos Jr. on November 27th, the 24-year-old admits that Alvarez has inspired him.
“Canelo man, he’s just on another level,” said Lopez during an interview with Fight Hub TV. “He’s only getting better. This definitely gives me that motivation, even more.”
Alvarez, 31, was viewed as a sizable favorite well before he stepped into the ring against Plant. With the former titlist giving Alvarez all he could handle, Lopez was pleasantly surprised by the way things were playing out. However, as Alvarez began dragging his man into the deep end, Lopez was left amazed as the pound-for-pound star registered the knockout win in the 11th.
“I had it 4-2 halfway into the fight. He won another round, I think about seven or eight but after that, Canelo started adapting more and more.”
Like always, immediately following his victory, Alvarez was afforded all of two seconds to enjoy the results before being peppered with questions surrounding his next possible opponent. Though the Mexican native doesn’t have a clear-cut opponent in mind, he has mentioned facing the likes of Jermall Charlo, David Benavidez, Gennadiy Golovkin, and current unified light heavyweight champion, Artur Beterbiev.
Even with Alvarez admitting that he won’t begin thinking about his next foe until at least January of next year, Lopez believes he knows who would be his most difficult challenge to date.
“I believe Charlo. That fight would definitely be big. Charlo is a dog. He goes out there and wants to make the fight happen. He never backs down. That could be a great fight. That could be a fight where it’s like toe to toe.”
