Teofimo Lopez: Who Are Potential Opponents For The New WBA Welterweight Champion?

What is next for Teofimo Lopez?

Lopez became a three-division world champion after defeating Rolando Romero on Saturday in Las Vegas.

For Lopez, it puts him one step closer to the Hall of Fame, but he is not yet enshrined, as inconsistency and missteps have plagued his career. Lopez (23-2, 13 KOs) has made the welterweight division interesting again, as the familiar faces from five years ago at lightweight are now emerging as the top names and champions at welterweight. At 29, Lopez is approaching his prime. Now that he has a DAZN broadcast deal, he should be one of the fighters who carry the sport forward.

So who would we like to see him fight next (from most appealing to least)?

Devin Haney

Haney holds the WBO welterweight title. The two have been tied to each other forever. When Lopez beat Vasiliy Lomachenko, Haney was angling for a fight with him. Lopez would inexplicably lose to George Kambosos Jr., which cooled those talks. Now, a bout could be a pay-per-view title unification between two modern stars. In a perfect world, this is what is next.

Liam Paro

Paro is rumored to face Kambosos, the man who infamously beat Lopez. If that fight were to happen and Paro were successful (way too many ifs, if you ask me, as Kambosos is a tricky dude), a great story would emerge. Lopez could go to Australia to face Paro, and if he wins, it would mirror what his rival Haney once did to become an undisputed champion by beating Kambosos. Lopez was robbed of the undisputed lightweight honor, as Haney held a form of the WBC title at the time; Lopez beat Lomachenko.

It is an interesting bout, and given that Lopez may be a little small at welterweight, as is Paro, it could be an action-packed fight.

Ryan Garcia-Conor Benn winner

I am all for it, but assuming Garcia knocks out Benn, for the sake of fairness, we will keep this open-ended. That bout is coming up in September, and Lopez just fought, so a unification welterweight bout between two stars would be a major deal moving forward.

Keyshawn Davis

Davis just missed out on the Haney fight. He is rumored to face Jack Catterall. Davis has all the star potential in the ring, but he can’t get out of his own way outside the ring. A fight between him and Lopez could feature some corny antics, especially at the press conferences, but it would be an interesting matchup between two of the better fighters of this generation.

Jack Catterall

Catterall is Lopez’s mandatory. As noted above, he is rumored to face Davis later this year. Catterall looks the part of a champion and would provide Lopez with a good title defense to prove he is a top guy in the division.

Lucas Ketelle

Lucas Ketelle is a boxing writer and podcaster who has appeared on various platforms throughout his career.

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