Teofimo Lopez: A Lot Of People Been Talking About 140 Now That I’m Up Here

There exists the potential for a major turnover in the 140-pound junior welterweight division.

Teofimo Lopez Jr. doesn’t view his arrival as being in the right place at the right time, but as the cause for the revolution.  

“A lot of people have been talking about 140 now that I’m up here,” Lopez told BoxingScene.com ahead of his move up in weight this weekend. “Who’s really pushing the move here? I know I am. I don’t need other people who I am. God tells me every day who I am and I just follow his path.

“For 140, the boxing world is asking for it but not really sure. What I really want to see is how these guys are talking about me after Saturday night. Everyone who was calling me out before I got here, I want to see if they got that same energy.”

Brooklyn’s Lopez (16-1, 12KOs)—who now fights out of Las Vegas—officially moves up from lightweight this Saturday, when he will face Mexico’s Pedro Campa (34-1-1, 23KOs) atop an ESPN telecast from Resorts World Las Vegas. The fight is his first since a12-round defeat to George Kambosos Jr. last November, ending his lineal and unified lightweight title reign.

At the time, Lopez envisioned defending the lightweight crown at least once more before moving up to capture the 140-pound crown. Josh Taylor (19-0, 13KOs) was the undisputed champion at the time, having since relinquished the WBC and WBA titles. Taylor is still the recognized lineal and unified champ, though possibly on borrowed time as he has openly discussed an eventual move to welterweight.

For now, he remains a stated target of the junior welterweight division’s hottest arrival.

“Josh Taylor still has three belts right now. He has the Ring, he has the WBO and IBF,” noted Lopez. “We want to shoot for as many as possible right away, so he’s the first one that he want. But Taylor is making excuses for everyone, he’s getting married.

“Same thing with Jose Ramirez, he’s getting married. But damn, go get eloped and get in the ring. How do you pay those bills once you get married? You fight. So come on, man. There are some moves being made right now that I don’t get. They’re giving up their own cards. Not me. A happy fighter is a dangerous fighter. At 140, it’s wide open. The job’s not done, we have to make that move Saturday and then go from there.”

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox