Teofimo Lopez Sees Undisputed Light-Welterweight Gold In His Future

Teofimo Lopez has five major world titles in the lightweight division but he’ll be looking for even more gold in due time.

Lopez currently holds the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, The Ring, and WBC (Franchise) Titles. “The Takeover” has already lived up to his nickname in the lightweight division. With that said, he eventually wants to move up to 140 pounds and capture gold as a light-welterweight.

Speaking to ESPN, Lopez discussed what separates himself from other fighters who shy away from taking risks.

“I set the tone. That’s why we call it the Takeover. I put my 0 at risk fighting a pound-for-pound No.1 at the time in Lomachenko. You got to take risks. If you believe in yourself, you got to go for it. And look what happened: I became undisputed world champ at 23 years old; that motivated and pushed all the other fighters in that new generation. We’re paving the way: The 0 and that stuff doesn’t matter; it’s all about making fights for the fans. The difficult part is the promoters and the money. A lot of fighters want to cash out if they are putting their 0 on the line. I’m a warrior. I don’t care. I trust in my abilities because I know I’ll win.”

Lopez went on to lay out his future plans, including making a run at light-welterweight gold.

“Devin Haney first. Then Garcia or Tank, probably at 140. And Josh Taylor-Jose Ramirez winner at 140. The winner of that fight becomes undisputed at that weight division, and I’m trying to go back-to-back [being undisputed] at 135 and 140. It’s never been done before, and that’s what I love. I love doing things that have never been done before.”

Josh Taylor and Jose Ramirez are expected to collide in the spring to determine the undisputed light-welterweight champion. Taylor holds the WBA (Super), IBF, and The Ring gold, while Ramirez is the WBC and WBO Champion.