Teofimo Lopez could be handed an immediate opportunity to bounce back in a major way following a one-sided defeat to Shakur Stevenson.
Lopez put his WBO super-lightweight world title on the line against Stevenson back in January. Despite boasting a size advantage, the champion was thoroughly outclassed by the challenger, with Stevenson winning almost every round on the scorecards to become a four-weight world champion at just 28.
Not long after the loss, Lopez announced that he would be moving up to welterweight to join a stacked division, complete with champions Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia, Lewis Crocker and Rolando Romero.
‘King Ry’ won the WBC belt by handily beating Mario Barrios three weeks following Lopez-Stevenson. Though he has publicly targeted a unification fight with WBO champ Haney – a rematch following their controversial 2023 meeting in 2023 – he appears to have settled on a voluntary defence against Lopez, who is not yet ranked in the division.
The fight, however, is not official, and it would be a bold move for the WBC to allow yet another voluntary defence of their belt, with a mandatory fight not enforced in several years.
Barrios was upgraded from interim to full champion in 2024, and made his first defence against number eight ranked Abel Ramos, retaining the belt with a draw.
He then made another voluntary defence against returning Manny Pacquiao, drawing again to retain the title, before facing Garcia in yet another non-ordered bout. The sanctioning body made Conor Benn mandatory challenger at the beginning of this year.
He fights next weekend in London against Regis Prograis in a catchweight bout at 150lbs. Despite recently linking up with Zuffa Boxing – a promotional company intent on sidelining the major sanctioning bodies – the Brit says he will fight for the belt before the end of the year.
