Teofimo Lopez Jr. may return to the ring later this year. According to a report from boxing insider Mike Coppinger, Lopez Jr.’s promoters over at Top Rank are eyeing a potential bout with him and Arnold Barboza Jr. If true, it would be Lopez Jr.’s first fight at the 140-pound division.
“We ready for anybody at 140 pounds; he doesn’t have to struggle at that weight, he’ll be perfect, he won’t be getting sick from his lungs anymore,” Lopez Jr.’s trainer and father, Teofimo Lopez Sr., told ESPN.
“I think that would be a great fight; I think Top Rank is looking for that fight with Barboza.”
Lopez Jr. won the undisputed 135-pound title via unanimous decision at the MGM Grand in October 2020. However, he lost his title in late 2021 via upset decision loss against George Kambosos Jr. at Madison Square Garden. After losing to Kambosos Jr., reporting from ESPN indicated that Lopez Jr. had fought while enduring diagnosed with “extensive air in the retropharyngeal space.”
Despite suffering severe injuries during this period of his career, Lopez Jr. believes that he will return to the ring better than ever. At his new weight class, he is looking to fight undisputed 140-pound champion Josh Taylor.
“We’ll fight anybody, it doesn’t matter who it is. And then eventually fight [undisputed 140-pound champion] Josh Taylor and get our belts back,” Lopez Sr. told ESPN.
While Lopez Jr. is confident about his future in the sport of boxing, Barboza believes that he should be more patient.
“When he started saying he was going to come to 140 and take over and jump right into title shots, it was a slap in the face to everybody at 140,” Barboza said.
“You’re at 135, it’s different.”
