Shortly after Teofimo Lopez’s 140-pound title reign came to an end at the hands of Shakur Stevenson, he announced he would be moving up to welterweight. The IBF’s latest announcement could throw a wrench in those plans.
Stevenson is no longer a super lightweight champion, but he could be in line to receive another shot. With Richardson Hitchins vacating his 140-pound title to pursue a welterweight title, the IBF ordered Lopez to face Lindolfo Delgado for the vacant belt, Ring Magazine reported on Tuesday.
Delgado is the IBF’s No. 1-ranked super lightweight contender and was previously in line to be Hitchins’ next challenger.
🚨 BREAKING: The IBF has ordered Lindolfo Delgado to fight Teofimo Lopez for its vacant junior welterweight title, sources tell The Ring’s @MikeCoppinger.
The title became available after Richardson Hitchins vacated the belt yesterday. Lopez was contemplating a move up to… pic.twitter.com/AK4XJz1ER6
— Ring Magazine (@ringmagazine) April 21, 2026
Lopez, 22-2, responded to the order by posting a picture with Ring Magazine owner Turki Alalshikh on his Instagram story.
The IBF ordered Hitchins to defend the title against Delgado after he withdrew from his previous scheduled title defense against Oscar Duarte. Hitchins instead vacated the belt after signing with Zuffa Boxing.
Delgado, 31, improved to 24-0 with a split decision win over Gabriel Valenzuela in November 2025. Delgado remains under contract with Bob Arum and Top Rank after signing a multi-fight agreement in late 2024.
While he never competed for the IBF super lightweight title, Lopez is No. 5 in the organization’s 140-pound rankings. He is also No. 3 and No. 7 in the WBO and WBC welterweight rankings, respectively, despite never fighting at 147 pounds.
Teofimo Lopez’s tumultuous career could remain at 140 pounds
Teofimo Lopez | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Depending on when Lopez returned to the gym after his loss to Stevenson, he could already be working toward his mini-bulk to 147 pounds. However, remaining at super lightweight might be the best move for his career.
Lopez responded to his last loss, an upset defeat to Georghe Kambosos Jr. in 2021, by moving up a division, and he was rewarded with a title shot against Josh Taylor less than two years later. That decision certainly panned out, but Lopez seemingly announced his plan to move to welterweight out of desperation after getting battered by Stevenson.
Lopez’s 5-foot-8 frame is much more suited for super lightweight than it is for welterweight, where he would be giving up significant size to many of the division’s top fighters. He was not noticeably bigger than Stevenson, who moved up from 135 pounds to take the fight and has still discussed potentially moving back down to his natural weight class.
Perhaps a welterweight move is in Lopez’s future, but remaining at 140 pounds figures to be his best bet in the prime of his career. Aside from his breakout win over Vasiliy Lomachenko, the Brooklyn native’s best performances have all come at super lightweight.
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