24 Jun

Teofimo Criticizes Gervonta and Ready for Crawford

American WBO junior welterweight champion (up to 63.5 kg) Teofimo Lopez (20-1, 13 KOs) shared his thoughts on his upcoming opponent Steve Claggett (38-7-2, 26 KOs), Gervonta Davis (30-0, 28 KOs), and the fight he would like to have before retiring.

"Against Claggett, it will be a tough fight. Many look at Claggett's record and think I'm fighting a no-name, but he hasn't lost in three years. He has fought former champions. He always comes to fight and throws a lot of punches. I need to be in great shape to beat a fighter like him. He can't be ignored, I can't get too confident and play around with him. I know this fight will bring joy to all my fans in Miami.

I want to face the best fighter in any division I'm in. Despite the doubters, I've overcome such skepticism before, as with the fights against Taylor and Lomachenko. Throughout my career, I've always aimed to compete with the best. I'm always ready to challenge myself. If after this fight I can convince other champions in the junior welterweight division to step into the ring with me, my main goal will be to test and expand my capabilities. I want to have the crown in three divisions.

Gervonta Davis? We both have speed, power, boxing IQ, but I wasn't handed this stuff. I really am like this. I don't wipe the blood when it's flowing – I fight. And he whines. When we sparred, he hit me in the nose and hurt his hand. He's like, 'Oh, damn.' I was 15, and he was 18.

Gervonta won't fight me. He's too cowardly. So I'd fight a guy who really has a big ego – that's Terence Crawford. His fight with Saul Alvarez? Crawford isn't stupid when it comes to that. Canelo is already a bit past his prime, but he's just a cash cow. For a fight with him, you easily get 50-100 million dollars. We have to thank Turki Alalshikh for trying to make boxing big again," Lopez said in an interview with The Danza Project YouTube channel.

Support