“Fighting Words” — Teofimo Lopez is sabotaging himself yet again

This is probably the only sentence Teofimo Lopez would agree with: He could’ve been much bigger than he is right now.

Lopez is a two-division champion. Not just a titleholder. He was the king of the lightweights, but his reign was short and disappointing, both within the ring and outside of it. He is now the lineal junior welterweight champ, the man who beat the man. Yet he should be doing much more to rule over his kingdom, especially a kingdom this full of potential challengers to his throne.

Instead, Lopez had a disappointing 2024 that has bled into 2025. He’s more than six months removed from his last fight and has not yet announced his next. He’s once again at odds with his promoter, Top Rank. He’s mainly present on social media, where he’s sending shots at Top Rank and going back and forth with boxing fans and observers. He upset many people last year by using racist terminology in an interview. And he’s had personal and professional splits – going through a divorce with his wife and reportedly parting ways with his manager as well.

In many ways, Lopez is sabotaging himself. And this isn’t the first time.

Lopez was heavily featured on Top Rank shows at the end of the last decade, spotlighted as he transitioned from prospect to contender to titleholder. His 44-second knockout of Mason Menard was the perfect highlight-reel victory for a December 2018 show headlined by Vasiliy Lomachenko and capturing some of the significant audience that tuned into ESPN to watch that year’s Heisman Trophy award winner announcement.

Lopez fought four times in 2019, all on ESPN, ESPN+ or ESPN pay-per-view, stopping Diego Magdaleno and Edis Tatli, winning a wide decision over Masayoshi Nakatani and making quick work of Richard Commey to win the IBF world title.

He was a rising star. Soon he would be a falling star, trapped in a black hole of his own creation.

By October 2020, Lopez had entered Lomachenko’s orbit. Physics isn’t a one-way equation, though. Lomachenko also had to deal with the gravity of the situation. He started slow against Lopez, potentially pacing himself and protecting a preexisting shoulder injury, but also respectful of his opponent’s size and talent. Lomachenko opened up in the second half of the fight but could not overcome the deficit.

Lopez was the new lightweight champion. And then he disappeared for more than a year. Not all of that was Lopez’s fault.

There were a lot of twists and turns in this saga, so we’ll try to keep it to the Cliff’s Notes: Lopez felt his stock had risen considerably in the wake of the Lomachenko victory and wanted a minimum of $5 million for future fights. Lopez was ordered to face mandatory challenger George Kambosos Jnr. Top Rank lost the purse bid, which the then-nascent Triller won with a massive bid of more than $6 million to be split between the two boxers. The fight was scheduled for June 2021 but was postponed when Lopez, who wasn’t vaccinated, contracted the coronavirus. Triller lost millions of dollars that had been spent on marketing, logistics and other costs.

Triller spent even more on the rescheduled bout, which went from one date to another, and from location to location. Triller thought it could recoup some of its expenses in Australia, where larger events could be held at that point of the pandemic. Lopez didn’t want to go there and deal with that country’s mandatory quarantine. The IBF stepped in and the fight was moved to early October in New York City. But Triller picked a date that was the same evening as Monday Night Football, a terrible idea for selling a pay-per-view. 

On very late notice, Triller pushed the fight date back by 12 days, a hard ask for fighters who are trying to make weight and hit peak form at the right time. Lopez agreed anyway. Kambosos demanded more money. Triller tried to have Kambosos removed from the fight. The IBF ruled that Triller had forfeited its rights to promote the bout. Matchroom Boxing wound up taking over and staged the show in late November. And Lopez, who may have taken his opponent too lightly, suffered an upset loss, dropping a split decision to Kambosos.

Lopez was promptly diagnosed with a dangerous physical ailment that affected his breathing. There were warning signs that things weren’t all right with Lopez psychologically, too, that he was struggling with his mental health. He spoke weeks before the event of considering suicide. And he laid himself worryingly bare while meeting with DAZN’s broadcast team just before the Kambosos bout, as recapped in this excellent post-fight column by Corey Erdman.

Why recap so much of the past? Because there are echoes of it in the present.

Lopez moved up to junior welterweight in 2022 and has had five fights since. He’s been inconsistent in terms of the level of talent he faces and the level of talent he exhibits. Lopez won a split decision over Sandor Martin in December 2022 but then outpointed Josh Taylor for the WBO title and lineal championship in June 2023. Neither of his defenses in 2024 was inspiring. Lopez retained against Jamaine Ortiz last February, though some feel Ortiz should have received the nod. Victory was much clearer against Steve Claggett in June, though Claggett wasn’t overly accomplished or deserving of the title shot.

Lopez is in a weight class with fellow titleholders Richardson Hitchins (IBF), Jose Valenzuela (WBA) and Alberto Puello (WBC), with contenders and former titleholders such as Arnold Barboza, Jack Catterall, Devin Haney, Subriel Matias and Liam Paro, among others. He’s spoken of wanting to move up to welterweight to face Jaron “Boots” Ennis.

He hasn’t fought since the win over Claggett; his ongoing marital issues, dating back more than three years, have understandably added even more to his other struggles.

Lopez hasn’t done himself any favors either.

He’s regularly bristled over the years at what he feels is a disparity between the money he thinks he brings Top Rank and ESPN and how much he’s compensated – versus what he feels he deserves to be compensated.

He’s blamed others, like Haney, for not accepting fights, but Lopez also hasn’t accepted the terms sent his way for a fight with Matias. He says he’s “too expensive for Top Rank” and wants a buyout. 

“His Top Rank contract extends by however long he waits to fight again because they offered at least his minimum (significantly more, actually) for the Matias fight,” wrote boxing reporter Keith Idec.

Lopez’s WBO title should give him a bargaining chip at junior welterweight. “Should” being the operative term. But his current situation has led the WBO to call for an interim title bout between Barboza and Catterall.

Barring a buyout, perhaps the best way for Lopez and Top Rank to move on would be for him to finish out his contract and then head into the open market. However, it’s also understandable if a fighter prefers certain compensation, and certain opposition, if they are to endure the punishment from training camp through fight night. 

They just have to understand the repercussions of those decisions, how that affects their relationships with their current promoters and networks, potential partners down the line, and fans in general.

Lopez is far from the first to battle with his promoter and take a stand over what he feels he deserves. Floyd Mayweather Jnr famously bought out his contract with Top Rank and became a far bigger superstar as a result. Andre Ward was sidelined amid a dispute with promoter Dan Goossen and ultimately wound up with Roc Nation.

It’s easier, of course, when you have other suitors awaiting. You shouldn’t burn bridges if that’s going to leave you stranded on an island. Shakur Stevenson served out the remainder of his deal with Top Rank, thought he deserved more than the company was offering to re-sign, and soon found a willing buyer with Matchroom.

Will Lopez have similar success? He is a two-division champion. He’s shown plenty of talent, though he’s been inconsistent with that. He’s also caused plenty of problems, and consistently so. Lopez believes that he’s worth millions. His task will be not just convincing another promoter and network that he’s worth those millions, but that he’s also worth the trouble. Or that there won’t be any more trouble.

It’s hard to believe that there wouldn’t be. Because Lopez has a longstanding habit of sabotaging himself. He wants things his way – but he can’t get out of his own way.