The IBF world lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez will be fighting not only for the WBA and the WBO world titles, but he’d get the chance to claim the WBC Franchise Champion tag if he manages to defeat the unified king Vasyl Lomachenko.
The unification bout is scheduled for October 17.
The interesting part about the WBC Franchise Belt is that it can’t be lost inside the ring. At the same time, we should note, that the regular WBC title is not on the line, because Devin Haney is the current champion.
“Teofimo Lopez is an outstanding fighter,” Mauricio Sulaiman, president of the WBC acknowledged of the Brooklyn-bred 2016 Honduran Olympian.
“The WBC position of implementing the franchise designation is specifically for the outstanding champions such as Vasiliy Lomachenko. If Teofimo Lopez beats Vasiliy Lomachenko, he has all the merits to be recognized as the Franchise champion.
“We are very proud that this fight is taking place because it is the very best fight that can happen.”