Promoter Bob Arum is frustrated with what he can do for Teofimo Lopez after his latest rejection of a fight with Subriel Matias. The manager of Top Rank reveals that he offered the WBO light welterweight champion Teofimo (21-1, 13 KOs), but nothing happened.
The descent of Teofimo
Lopez is neither self-aware nor self-aware his stock is gone since he lost to George Kambosos. He can’t hit the shots and get the fights he wants. In addition, Teo turned down offers to help him rebuild his brand.
Fans don’t think much of Teofimo anymore, and young people don’t know who he is. His latest game is against travel Steve Claggett it was a terrible thing, showing that is the level at which he works.
Arum isn’t saying who he’ll give Lopez next, but if he’s lucky, he might get a chance to fight Ryan Garcia if he beats Devin Haney in their rematch this year. Garcia will likely win that fight easily, and will need Teofimo next if he doesn’t price himself in some dire need. Lopez must understand that he is not the A-side against Haney and Ryan. They are bigger names than him.
It wouldn’t have been that way if Teofimo hadn’t done damage to his career since 2021, looking bad in almost every fight since defeating Vasily Lomachenko in 2020. Something changed in Teo after that fight, and some believe that the punishment he received in that tough match hurt him. Now he looks clueless in the ring, and says negative things when there is an interview.
It seems it will end badly between Arum and Teofimfo, as the Brooklyn, New York native ruined his career by quitting the fight. Teo is like a fast growing cancer now; there is almost no way to cut it.
So far, Lopez has not shown the ability to hit top-level opponents. He struggled against opponents, losing to George Kambosos Jr. and earning two controversial decisions against Jamaine Ortiz and Sandor Martin. Many fans feel that Teofimo lost both fights, meaning his actual record should be 19-3, not 21-1.
Arum frustration
While Arum hasn’t given up on the once-promising 27-year-old Lopez, he sounds pessimistic. Teofimo has underperformed in five of his last six fights since 2021, and he still believes he is a top-class fighter. He spent time calling out fighters above his class, such as Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis and Terence Crawford.
It would be better for Arum to wash his hands of Teofimo and say, ‘Good riddance.’ He will NOT turn his career around from being the fighter many fans thought he would be when things were going well for him from 2018 to 2020. And here in Lomachenko is where things changed. Teofimo is not the same fighter.
Part of that may be because he’s no longer fighting at 135, and he doesn’t have the size advantage he enjoyed when competing against smaller fighters at lightweight. If you compare Teofimo’s size to Lomachenko’s on fight night, it’s clear that he was competing outside of his weight class.
Since moving up to 140, Lopez has looked average and should have had two losses against Jamaine and Sandor. You can only imagine what skills the likes of Jose ‘Rayo’ Valenzuela, Alberto Puerllo, Ryan, and Haney could do to Teofimo if they were to fight him now.
Bob Arum to Teofimo Lopez: “The question is what will he not say no to?” Where is his head? Who wants to fight? We gave him a whole group of fighters. And it’s not like you’re out of good plans. He looked terrible [Jamaine] Ortiz and people think he lost that… pic.twitter.com/P2JM1gG9iZ
— Ring Magazine (@ringmagazine) January 14, 2025
