Teofimo Lopez made an appearance at the Canelo Alvarez vs. Edgar Berlanga weigh-in on Friday to call out Gervonta "Tank" Davis and other big-name fighters, despite the slim chances of those fights happening. Lopez, the current WBO light welterweight champion, has struggled in recent performances against fighters like Steve Claggett, Jamaine Ortiz, Sandor Martin, and Pedro Campa. Still, he used the event as an opportunity to challenge Tank, who holds the WBA "regular" lightweight title.
The prospect of a Lopez vs. Tank Davis matchup seems unlikely. Not only are they fighting in different weight classes, but Tank also has more popular opponents available to him. Teofimo’s call-out appeared to be a plea for a payday, especially since he typically rehydrates to around 160 lbs for his 140-lb bouts, making it impractical for him to drop back down to 135 lbs to face Tank.
If Lopez is truly interested in testing himself against a lightweight, he should first prove himself by taking on fighters like William Zepeda or Andy Cruz. Instead, Teofimo seems focused on securing a fight with Davis, even though it’s unclear why he waited so long to make this challenge, especially after Vasily Lomachenko announced his absence from the ring for the rest of the year.
Promoter Leonard Ellerbe has indicated that Tank Davis is already considering two potential opponents for his next fight, with one rumored to be Jose "Rayo" Valenzuela, who recently took the WBA light welterweight title from Isaac "Pitbull" Cruz. Nevertheless, Teofimo remains vocal, stating, "Hey, Tank, give me a fight, brother. He ain’t fighting, I ain’t fighting. What’s up? I don’t like people saying I’m ducking somebody."
Image Credit: DAZN