Teofimo Lopez Sr. Rules Out The Haney Fight – Wants Romero Or Cruz Next
Teofimo Lopez Sr. wants his son, Teofimo Lopez, to take on the winner of Rolando Romero vs. Isaac Cruz.
Lopez is gearing up to face Jamaine Ortiz on February 8 in the first defense of his WBO Junior Welterweight Title. He acquired the belt after giving the former Undisputed Champion at 140 his first-ever career loss. Since then, he has been linked with a huge fight against Devin Haney. The Dream is the current WBC Junior Welterweight Champion after beating Regis Prograis in his first fight at the weight class. Despite calls for a unification, Lopez Sr. wanted Romero or Cruz next.
Lopez Sr. On Haney
“They’ve both got to bring everything they’ve got. It’s a tough match for both of them, and whoever comes out victorious, we’re ready. We’re ready to take on whoever it is to unify the belts. So whoever wins, we’re ready to fight…We’ve called him [Devin] out numerous times. That fight not going to be made, especially anytime soon after what we do on February 8th,” Lopez Sr said
Those comments are understandable since another belt makes a Haney fight even bigger. Also, an element of bad blood has developed between Lopez and Romero. The Takeover released some sparring footage between the two, showing him getting the better of Romero.
This was done after Romero hit out at Oscar De La Hoya for the Ryan Garcia fight breaking down. Although that may have been the case, Lopez defended De La Hoya, stating that he would humble Romero. The incident ended a friendship between the two, setting up the narrative for a fight. Now Lopez has added more fuel to the fire by revealing why Romero was out of the ring for an extended period after winning his first world title.
Lopez On Romero
“What can I think? Rolando Romero is coming off a really bad back injury, and he has a lot of problems there. You guys probably didn’t know about that, huh? Well, I did. I know a lot of stuff. It’s time to expose everybody.
“My whole thing is, he’s [Rolly] got a lot of back problems and got a lot of neck problems. Maybe Pitbull can take advantage of that when they fight each other,” said Teofimo. “Whoever did the banner, though. It should just be Romero vs. Cruz. I don’t think it should be Rolly vs. Pitbull. It doesn’t make sense, but I’m not on that side. I’m on this side over here. I wish them nothing but the best for these guys,” Lopez added
Before Lopez can even think about that, he must overcome Ortiz. The latter is having his first fight at 140 pounds, providing Lopez with some unpredictability. He has also teamed up with Bill Haney, whose son Devin is one of Lopez’s biggest rivals. If he manages to beat Ortiz, the big unification fights will be on offer, putting Lopez in a good position to secure his legacy.
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