Teofimo Lopez has reacted to Bill Haney’s desire for him to fight his son Devin Haney.
Lopez is preparing to face Jamaine Ortiz, who is currently working with Bill Haney, in the first defense of his WBO junior welterweight title. Lopez secured the belt after beating Josh Taylor via a unanimous decision. The victory puts him in line for a big unification against Subriel Matias (IBF champion) or Bill’s son. But Lopez wanted a shot at Crawford, who became the first undisputed welterweight champion of the four-belt era after stopping Errol Spence Jr.
Lopez Vs. Crawford
“I’m not here to play games; I want to fight the best. The fighters Crawford fought were handicapped. Spence just announced about his eye, Jose Benavidez had a shot leg, and Kell Brook was injured too with his eye. Every fighter Crawford has faced at 147lbs has been injured. I’m healthy. Fight the best fighter at a healthier weight; let’s do it,” Teofimo Lopez said
Crawford shut down Lopez, urging him to focus on his weight class.
“Teofimo Lopez, you better worry about them little guys that are on your backside down there in your weight class. It’s crazy every time I see you, you don’t even look my way, but when you’re in front of a camera, you got so much to say,” Crawford said
So if Lopez comes out victorious against Ortiz, Bill wanted to make a unification.
“Teofimo Lopez, if you don’t knock it off, talking about you want Bud Crawford. I just seen you and your daddy, and I yelled, ‘Why didn’t we offer you $20 million.’ So you can imagine what you’d be talking about to fight Bud Crawford. Listen, act like you got some sense. You hear that money counter in the background. Act like you got some sense, and we can make Haney vs. Lopez for that 140-pound unification. Yeah, baby. Act like you got some sense, and stop talking about Bud Crawford. You don’t want none of Bud Crawford, and you don’t deserve none. Knock it off, talk like you got some sense,” Bill said
Lopez Vs. Haney
Devin has struggled to make the big fights after Ryan Garcia pulled out of talks to face him by going for Rolando Romero instead. Haney allegedly sold 50,000 PPV buys for the Regis Prograis fight, which has hampered him in negotiations for the bigger bouts, as the WBC junior welterweight champ may have to fight his mandatory Sandor Martin next. But since Lopez and Haney are struggling to secure big purses, a fight between them may be enough to generate the numbers they are looking for.
And by the looks of it, Lopez is ready for the challenge.
“The Haney’s are now on the radar! It’s about damn time. One fight at a time baby! One fight at a time,” Lopez stated
Provided Lopez beats Ortiz and Haney navigates his WBC mandatory, Martin, there is a chance that unification could follow.
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