Teofimo Lopez erased all doubts, from detractors and himself, when he beat Josh Taylor to become the WBO and The Ring super lightweight champion. Inside Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater, "The Takeover" won in vintage Lopez fashion, dissecting Taylor the way he did against Vasiliy Lomachenko in 2020 to become WBA, WBO, and The Ring lightweight champion.
The 25-year-old is back to his dominant ways. After questioning if he "still had it" following the Sandor Martin fight, we can now look past his performance against George Kambosos Jr., where he dealt with the effects of COVID-19, promotional changes, and family matters.
Now that he is a two-division champion, where does he rank on the often-debated pound-for-pound rankings? With his resume and the list of stars already ranked, Lopez could threaten some of the top fighters within it. As far as the division is concerned, is he the king of the super lightweights?
MORE: Mayweather vs. Gotti brawl: Was boxing match chaos staged?
More importantly, is he the king of the next generation of boxing that includes Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia, Shakur Stevenson, and Gervonta Davis? Davis has been branded the "face of boxing," but with the gold Lopez has held and the people he has beaten, his case is pretty strong.
Will all this not matter if he stays retired, which he announced following the fight? Boxing fans have taken retirement announcements from fighters with a grain of salt, as seen by the actions of Tyson Fury and Floyd Mayweather.
Is Lopez serious, or just being smart by using his retirement as a bargaining chip? If the right fight and price presents itself, he could turn around and enter the ring again. After all, Lopez did say he would return if he received a nine-figure deal. How long will this retirement last?
On this episode of Fightin’ Words, The Sporting News' Andreas Hale, Karisa Maxwell, and Tom Gray discuss all things Lopez!
MORE:
- Teofimo Lopez returns to elite level, proves himself once again
- Did Teofimo Lopez re-enter the mythical pound-for-pound list?
- Teofimo Lopez next fight options
- Floyd Mayweather vs. John Gotti III brawl doesn't represent what boxing is about
- Everything you need to know about Errol Spence Jr. vs. Terence Crawford