Teofimo Lopez could not secure a super fight with Terence Crawford but he wonders if this mega bout might await

That fallout left Lopez (21-1, 13 KOs) defending the WBO super lightweight world championship against interim titleholder Arnold Barboza (32-0, 11 KOs) as part of a historic New York City card, which will be broadcast exclusively on DAZN PPV on May 2.

As the buildup between he and Barboza intensifies, Lopez can’t help but still wonder about the daring to be greater bout that would allow him to elevate his career that much further.

Sitting in his home during a recent Zoom session with DAZN News, Lopez pondered who could be a consolation after any attempts to get Crawford in the ring were largely dismissed.

“I think to myself … I don’t know,” Lopez said.

Just then, Lopez, already a two-weight world champion at 27, admitted he will be eyeing this weekend’s welterweight world championship unification fight between Jaron Ennis and Eimantas Stanionis, live on DAZN, very intently.

“147 is around the corner for me and you have Stanionis versus 'Boots,'" Lopez said. “Those two fighters are fighting for the Ring lineal world championship title as well. It will be on the line when they unify.

“That’s something I’m looking at.”

Particularly, Lopez coming up from super lightweight to welterweight and challenging Ennis, if he is to win Saturday night, would mark a blockbuster bout with two fighters in their prime who are able to blend sweet science skills with power.

“There has to be buildups to fights, absolutely,” Lopez said. “With Crawford and Canelo, that wasn’t a fight that sounded like it could be made, but with the powers that be, they made it happen.”

So as the “disappointment” from not securing a Crawford fight wears off for Lopez, the Brooklyn, New York native believes he still has enticing options in daring to be greater.

Now, it’s about defeating Barboza to cross those roads.

“In the mean time, I got to focus on Barboza,” Lopez conceded. “None of this really matters until then. Barboza is gonna be the guy who really sets the tone for me everywhere or with anything else that comes to play.

“I haven’t accomplished enough or anything,” he tacked on. “I haven’t accomplished anything yet. I just turned 27. Crawford and Canelo are on their way out. I still have a good 10 years of this.”