By Dan Ambrose: Teofimo Lopez Sr predicts that WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney will duck a fight against undisputed 135-lb champion Teofimo (16-0, 12 KOs) when he turns his attention to him after his title defense against George Kambosos Jr.
Haney’s decision to defend his WBC title against 35-year-old Jorge Linares, who Teofimo Sr views as the “weakest link” among the top lightweights, is a move to try and make himself “look good.”
In other words, Teofimo Sr views Haney’s decision to face “old man” Linares as him cherry-picking a safe opponent.
Teofimo Sr, the coach, and dad of IBF/WBA/WBC/WBO 135-lb champion Teofimo Lopez, believes that Haney (25-0, 15 KOs) is “SCARED” of his son, and that’ll “Outprice” himself when it comes to negotiating the fight.
With that said, Teofimo Sr says they’re still going to give it a try to make the fight with Devin after Lopez Jr faces his IBF mandatory George Kambosos Jr (19-0, 10 KOs) on June 5th on the Triller card at the Marlins Stadium in Miami, Florida.
If Teofimo Sr can’t make the fight with Haney, he said he’ll focus on the other ‘Kings’ of the lightweight division, Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis and Ryan Garcia. Teofimo Sr. didn’t mention giving Vasily Lomachenko a rematch, who isn’t one of the ‘Four Kings’ for some reason.
Lomachenko isn’t on the list of fighters that Teofimo Lopez and his father are interested in fighting, and some see it as them being afraid of the former three-division world champion.
Teofimo Sr: Haney is fighting the weakest link
“Hopefully, he gets over Linares,” said Teofimo Sr to Fighthype about Haney’s May 29th fight against Jorge Linares.
“I think he [Haney] can win that fight because Linares is an old man. If you were to choose somebody that is going to make you look good, you’ve got to choose the weakest link.
“Who is the weakest link [at 135] after Luke Campbell? Linares, right? So that’s why they [Team Haney] picked him so they can look good,” said Teofimo Sr.
It’s hard to disagree with Teofimo Sr about Haney having picked the “weakest link” among the top 135-lb fighters, although some would say that Ryan Garcia fits that label. Ryan isn’t interested in fighting Haney, though.
What makes Haney look like he’s shooting for the weakest link is that he had a chance to fight Vasily Lomachenko but instead took the match against Linares, a guy he knocked out.
That tells you all you need to know about Haney. Lomachenko isn’t too pleased with being used as leverage for Haney to get a better deal for the Linares fight.
Haney WON’T fight Teofimo; he’s scared
“They ain’t never going to fight us [Teofimo Lopez] because they’re scared of us,” said Teofimo Sr.
“They’re never going to fight us. I think they’re going to freaking outprice themselves or whatever it is, but we’re going to try and get that fight after this fight.
“After this fight with Kambosos, we’re going after all these so-called Kings, which they’re not. It’s a disgrace to the sport; they’ve not beaten any top 10 fighters.
“My son [Teofimo] is the only one that has done it. If you want my son to go backward, we’re going to do it just to show the people, just to show the world that my son is the undisputed champion of the world.
“We don’t have to show it because we already are. It’s already written in the books that I’m the best trainer in the world 2020. My son is the best fighter in the world in 2020.
“So what do we got to show? I’ve got to give a speech in the Hall of Fame in October, and all of these guys are going to be there.
“As ‘Trainer of the Year,’ I’m going to give a speech. Is that a lie? No, it’s not a lie; it’s real. I’m the greatest, do you know what I’m saying? I don’t listen to these people.
“They want to degrade us. None of these guys have anything to beat my son with, and they’re scared of my son, and I know that.
“When we go to the Devin Haneys, watch them do something to get out of that fight. They’re not ready,” Teofimo Sr. said.
There’s an excellent chance the Teofimo vs. Haney fight won’t get made in 2021, but it’s not just because Devin will outprice himself. Teofimo, 23, might overprice himself as well, particularly if his asking price is $10 million for the fight. That’s not going to happen now.
Maybe in a few years if Teofimo and Haney’s popularity keeps soaring, but not now. It’s too early for Teofimo to get $10 million for the Haney fight.
Ryan Garcia vs. Gervonta Davis is a 50-50 fight
“To me, that’s a 50-50 fight,” said Teofimo Sr when asked to pick a winner for the Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis vs. Ryan Garcia fight, if it ever happens.
“To me, they’re the same fighters. Gervonta Davis can get him on the inside. People have already seen that Ryan Garcia got tested with his chin.
“He got dropped by a guy [Luke Campbell] that’s not that powerful. So imagine if Gervonta Davis hits him with a good shot.
“Those are the things you’ve got to look at. I see that fight 50-50, I can’t call it, you know?” said Teofimo Sr on the Tank vs. Ryan Garcia fight.
Tank Davis has to be viewed as a massive favorite over Ryan Garcia if that fight ever happens, and who knows if it ever will. If Ryan sits inactive for a couple of years, you can forget it as a competitive one.
It’s hard to know when Ryan will fight again because he says that he ONLY wants Manny Pacquiao or Tank Davis next.
If Ryan is willing to sit and wait for a long time for either of those fights to happen, his already slim chances of winning will drop.
What’s sad is that it looks like Ryan Garcia is already cashing out and getting ready to leave the sport even before he’s done anything. For Ryan to stubbornly insist on only fighting Pacquiao or Tank suggests that his self-confidence is no longer there after his fight against Luke Campbell.
If Ryan believed in himself, he would be confident enough to take the fights against Javier Fortuna and Haney, but apparently, he’s not.
