Teofimo Lopez Declares Himself ‘Next Face of Latinos’ After Canelo Alvarez

Teofimo Lopez says he’s looking forward to becoming “The next face of Latinos” once Canelo Alvarez retires from boxing. Lopez (21-1, 13 KOs) believes he’s got the talent to take over from Canelo as ‘the face” once he leaves the sport.

Canelo is expected to continue fighting for another three years, but he’s been on a semi-retirement tour. Teofimo can take over as the face of Latinos because Alvarez is playing it safe, avoiding the sharks at 168 and 175.

Latino Legacy

Teo is willing to take risks and give fand the fights that they want to see. That’s how you become the face of boxing. Gervonta Davis and Canelo have dropped the ball in that respect.

WBO light welterweight champion Teofimo will need to raise his game to become the next star with Latinos. He’s looked marginal in four out of his five fights at 140 and was lucky with the judging not to have two additional defeats.

Lopez is defending his WBO belt against his mandatory Arnold Barboza Jr. (32-0, 11 KOs) in a toss-up fight on May 2nd at Times Square in New York City. Many boxing fans are picking Barboza Jr. to win that fight because he’s got the hot hand right now, defeating Jose Ramirez and Jack Catterall in his last two fights.

If Teofimo wins that fight, he could challenge IBF welterweight champion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis in October. That’s a fight that could vault Teo into the  top spot if he beats Ennis.

“Place me as the underdog because of the business standpoint, I am the underdog as far as the stakes go and everything, no, I’m not,” said Teofimo Lopez to Shawn Porter’s YouTube channel, talking about his fight against Arnold Barboza Jr. on May 2nd.

Lopez is one of those types that performs better when he’s being overlooked in a fight. He’s not a good a frontrunner when he’s expected to do well, as we saw in his fights against Jamaine Ortiz, Sandor Martin and George Kambosos Jr.

“Next Face”

“I feel like I’m the next face for Latinos after Canelo Alvarez, even though Canelo’s hopeful for Mexicans, I’m sorry to say that God chose me. Once Canelo is out, I’ll be the face of the Latinos. It’ll be perfect because I speak more English, but then we’ll start taping in a little bit more in my language barrier of Spanish.

“I’m dreaming big. I’ve earned it, and I deserve it, and I’ve received it. On top of that, it’s about holding onto it. It’s a lot easier gaining and going for these things rather than keeping them. You’re seeing them right now with my division alone. We just got a new champion of Gary Antuanne Russell at 140 lbs with the WBA,” said Lopez.