Teofimo Lopez is looking to bounce back after suffering a second career defeat and an immediate world title shot on the cards.
Having become a unified lightweight champion, Lopez moved up super-lightweight in 2022 and dethroned Josh Taylor to become the WBO titleholder the following year. Up at 140lbs, he made three defences of his title before losing it to Shakur Stevenson in January of this year.
Since then, Lopez has made his intentions of a welterweight move clear, seeking fights against the likes of Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney.
However, should he choose to remain at super-lightweight, he could land an immediate title shot, after being invited by the IBF to negotiate a vacant title bout against Lindolfo Delgado, following Richardson Hitchins vacating the belt in order to move up.
Delgado is rated as the number one contender in the division and had been Hitchins’ mandatory challenger, with that fight being ordered back in February.
Told that this is not true. The IBF has requested the availability of Lindolfo Delgado and Teofimo Lopez to fight for the vacant title, rather than ordering the matchup. https://t.co/y0jsviH9Kx
— EverythingBoxing | Darshan Desai (@EverythingBoxi2) April 21, 2026
Currently, there is no #2 in the IBF’s super-lightweight rankings and Oscar Duarte and Keyshawn Davis, who are respectively rated at #3 and #4, both have fights scheduled, meaning that they are unavailable. Duarte has also stated his plans of pursuing the WBC world title, likely due to the fact that he and Delgado have the same trainer.
Lopez sits at #5 but, should he deliver on his welterweight promies, Canada’s Arthur Biyarslanov (#6) will be next in line to be invited for negotiations.
