Teofimo Lopez wasn’t happy about not being included in the Canelo Alvarez team before his bout against Arnold Barboza Jr. Now, he seems to have shaken hands with Canelo’s former rival, the undefeated retired boxing legend Floyd Mayweather. But what led up to all this drama? 

Before defeating Barboza Jr. via a unanimous decision in Times Square, New York, ‘The Takeover’ made headlines for training with Canelo’s long-time trainer, Eddy Reynoso. However, due to scheduling issues with Canelo’s own fight against William Scull on May 3rd in Riyadh, that partnership had to come to an end. 

However, the 27-year-old took offense at the unfortunate situation, later openly backing Terence Crawford in his upcoming fight against Canelo Alvarez on September 13th. “I’m going to go for Crawford because let’s say he beats Canelo, I have ammunition. So when I fight him, I beat Crawford… I beat Canelo,” Lopez had said. He also remarked, “The Canelo Team don’t want Teofimo. It’s not our fault. It’s whatever the champ wants.” The Brooklyn native even took digs at Canelo for his performance against Scull, stating, “I don’t want to be heavy, flat-footed, planted feet anyway. I’m a pretty damn good boxer, too.” Weeks have passed since the entire fiasco started in March, and now, Lopez is partnering with Floyd Mayweather.

Earlier today on Instagram, the WBO super lightweight champion posted pictures of himself and Mayweather together, with the caption reading, “TBE x TAKEOVER 🤑👍.” Meanwhile, he added pictures of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant together to highlight two greats coming together, even though Bryant and Jordan never played on the same team.

It’s worth mentioning that Mayweather defeated Alvarez back in September 2013, which proved the retired boxer’s supremacy over Canelo. Additionally, Lopez’s decision to support Crawford, with whom Lopez has a long-standing beef, highlights his newfound animosity against Canelo for excluding him from the training camp weeks prior.

Regardless, Teofimo Lopez has always had a connection with Floyd Mayweather.

That time Floyd Mayweather helped Teofimo Lopez land a role in Snoop Dogg’s music video

At just 11 years old, Teofimo Lopez landed a surprise cameo in a Snoop Dogg music video—thanks to none other than Floyd Mayweather. The former unified lightweight champion revealed the story in an interview with Fight Hype in 2021, saying, “It was during the time I met Floyd for the first time. And during that time, Floyd was, and still is, one of the major guys in the game.”

Shortly after their meeting, Lopez was invited to a mansion—possibly in Malibu—where Snoop was filming the video for Terrace Martin’s track ‘Bounce.’ “I just go and we go, and they are just shooting,” Lopez recalled. “I can see the guys, I can see Snoop.” In the video, a young Lopez can be briefly spotted shadowboxing behind bikini-clad women—a surreal moment in his journey to stardom.

That said, while Teofimo Lopez might not be training under Floyd Mayweather like he was planning to do with Canelo’s legendary trainer Eddie Reynoso, it’s undeniable that the timing of the post adds some drama to his beef with Canelo’s team. What do you think about Lopez swapping sides?