Those trying to make sense of Teofimo Lopez’s situation are doing so in vain as the charismatic two-division champion and his longtime promoter Top Rank failed to strike a planned WBO 140-pound title defense against former champion Subriel Matias on March 15 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The passing of a Tuesday deadline to come to terms left Top Rank officials bewildered and Lopez, 27, resolute in his defiance.
“I am flattered and honored that you all would love to see me fight right now. However, I’ve got unfinished business with Top Rank,” Lopez wrote on the social networking platform X.
“I will be fighting this year, which is guaranteed by the powers that be! 3 6 9 Soon, you will see why I did what I did! #IJustDidThat #Boxing”
Top Rank Chairman Bob Arum presented a final offer to Lopez, 21-1, (13 KOs), who hasn’t fought since defeating little-known Steve Claggett on June 29, the second of two uninspired showings that year.
Arum said he was unsure where the drama goes from here.
“It’ll play out or it won’t,” Arum told BoxingScene Wednesday. “I can’t stay up nights worrying about it. I’ve got a [Madison Square] Garden show coming up [Feb. 14] that will sell out in three days. I can’t keep going down these rabbit holes.”
Lopez posted on “X” Wednesday, “PSA: I haven’t rejected the fight, they rejected my counter offer! #Boxing”
Lopez has endured a divorce this year, strained with his longtime manager David McWater and aligned with Canelo Alvarez’s attorney while seeking to escape from his deal with Top Rank that officials have characterized as iron-clad.
He’s taken some recent shots on “X” at Top Rank President Todd DuBoef, insinuating not making better fights and paying Lopez more contributed to a possible parting between the promoter and ESPN later this year.
Yet, a Top Rank official familiar with the situation said Lopez has taken a “delusional” turn in viewing his treatment as a promoter, not as a fighter who needs to stay busy.
“He says he wants to fight the best and fight four times a year in one breath, yet he accepts Steve Claggett and Jamaine Ortiz and turns down fights like Devin Haney,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. “He’s turned down $10 million in purses and seems to be running on fumes financially. No one understands the rationale.
“He’s really a good guy, and seems to mean well face to face, but he’s at this point where you worry he’ll look back and ask, ‘What happened to my career?’ Maybe he’s a lost soul.”
Top Rank sought solutions, including an alternate bout for Lopez against top-five lightweight contender Raymond Muratalla, but the inability to strike an agreement means Matias will be freed to move on.
And what happens next is anyone’s guess.
Lance Pugmire is BoxingScene’s senior U.S. writer and an assistant producer for ProBox TV. Pugmire has covered boxing since the early 2000s, first at the Los Angeles Times and then at The Athletic and USA Today. He won the Boxing Writers’ Association of America’s Nat Fleischer Award in 2022 for career excellence.
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