Teofimo Lopez wants to fight Terence Crawford and is willing to give away some weight to make it happen.
The two-division world champion currently holds the WBO Super-Lightweight World Title and Crawford, on August 3, will make his super-welterweight debut.
Lopez wants to jump the two division gap and meet him at 154 and he’s convinced he beats the pound-for-pound, two-time undisputed star.
Speaking to Sean Zittel, Lopez said it was Crawford’s impressive reach – a reported six inches longer than his own – that he would flip to his advantage.
“It’s not about that, it’s about how you dissect it, how you’re able to range it. Guys with long arms, it takes them a longer time to bring it back. So, in those moments when they’re trying to bring those punches back, you’ve got your moment to take advantage of it.
Look, I fought Josh Taylor. Long ass arms. I took advantage of that. And Crawford is very wide. Y’all don’t see it. Y’all don’t see it. Crawford’s always been long and lanky.”
Lopez was last out with a routine if underwhelming defence against Steve Claggett but has always maintained that he performs better when fighting against top opposition – and he does have a case for it with wins over Vasiliy Lomachenko and Josh Taylor.
Crawford faces WBA 154 Champion Israil Madrimov on August 3. Unfortunately for Lopez, he’s much more likely to look up the divisions at a fight with Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez rather than down.
