WBO light heavyweight Brian Norman Jr. attacked fellow Top Rank man Teofimo Lopez on social media, reacting to him saying he didn't want to fight unification with IBF champion Jaron 'Boots' Ennis when he had the chance to face him in November.
Norman Jr. bubble
Brian Norman Jr. (26-0, 20 KO) told Teofim that “complain about money” and that he's trying to keep his career alive by saying “Crazy” so people will want to watch his fights. The fans “still don't care” to see him. Norman Jr. then challenged Lopez (21-1, 13 KOs) to 147 to try to take his WBO belt.
Lopez's popularity fell from its peak four years ago when he upset the injured, one-armed Vasiliy Lomachenko by unanimous decision in 12 rounds on October 17, 2020. The two have done nothing since then, defeating weaker fighters and facing worse and worse competition to the point where fans no longer mention him.
Teo hasn't been the same fighter since the match against Loma, and some fans believe he's already washed up at the age of 27. The fight with Lomachenko got the best out of Teofim, leaving him a shell that was lost to George Kambosos Jr., who got controversial decision wins over Sandor Martin and Jamaine Ortiz.
Lately, Teofimo has started calling out Jaron 'Boots' Ennis and Terence Crawford who are completely out of his league. These are fights in which there is no chance of victory, but even fewer such matches happen.
If Lopez wanted to reinvent himself and be taken seriously by fans again, he would accept Norman Jr.'s offer to fight him for his WBO welterweight belt. Winning that title would give Teofim the upper hand to win the fight against Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs), who for some reason is fixated on winning all the welterweight titles. I
The money Lopez would make fighting Norman Jr. he won't be big, but he has to see this fight as an investment in his future. If he can win that title, it would open the door to fights against Boots and possibly some other top welterweights, like Conor Benn.
You didn't want to fight Boots when you had the chance. All for $$$$ … I fought Lomachenko, P4P #1, and came home with less than $500k. You don't believe in YOURSELF AND THAT'S ALL A FIGHTER NEEDS TO WIN, but hey, good luck with the settings @OfficialBNorman #Boxing
— Teofimo Lopez (@TeofimoLopez) December 19, 2024