By Sean Jones: Teofimo Lopez has signed an amended deal with Top Rank that increases his minimum purses and places him in a feature position on ESPN+ and pay-per-view, according to Mike Coppinger. Lightweight champion Teofimo and Top Rank will be looking for a big name to fight him on October 2nd.
As long as Teofimo is fighting PPV-worthy opposition, it shouldn’t be a problem selling his fights. With that said, he’s clearly not doing that with his fight against George Kambosos Jr this month on June 19th on Triller pay-per-view.
That’s a non-marquee fight, as the casual boxing fans have never seen Kambosos Jr fight in the U.S. Heck, even hardcore fans have no clue who Kambosos Jr is. The ones that do know of him weren’t impressed with the way he came close to losing to old-timers Lee Selby and Mickey Bey.
That’s why it’s a looney idea for Triller to have paid a ton of money with their winning bid at the recent purse bid. It’s unclear how much the Triller higher-ups know about boxing because they’re taking a big gamble placing Teofimo’s low-level fight against Kambosos on PPV.
That fight event is likely to do poor PPV numbers, showing Teofimo can’t sell fights against no-name opposition.
Teofimo has talked incessantly about wanting to fight WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney next, but Bob Arum burst that bubble this week by saying that fight won’t happen in October.
Arum said that he already spoke to Teofimo’s manager David McWaters about his options, which DON’T include a fight with Haney.
Bob Arum of Top Rank has already floated the idea of Teofimo facing Vasily Lomachenko on ESPN PPV for October 2nd, but it would have to be agreed on by Teo.
That’s probably not going to happen. Arum really wants the Lomachenko vs. Teofimo rematch, but he can’t wrestle Teo to the ground and force him to sign.
The chances of that fight happening are low because of disinterest in Teofimo and his dad Teofimo Sr’s part. They don’t like the Lomachenko rematch, and it’s understandable why. It’s a risky fight for Teofimo, who has only had a small handful of tough matches in his career.
The other option for Teofimo to fight is Jose Pedraza. Arum said that if Teofimo wants to fight Josh Taylor at 140, he would need to fight the winner of the Jose Pedraza vs. Julian Rodriguez fight. Tonight, Pedraza stopped Rodriguez.
Josh Taylor will be defending against his WBO mandatory Jack Catterall next, so Teofimo will not be able to fight him on October 2nd.
“Sources: Teofimo Lopez and Top Rank have signed an amended deal that will raise his minimum purses and feature him on ESPN+ PPV. Lopez defending 135-pound titles vs. George Kambosos on Triller June 19 after a financial dispute with TR. Teofimo looking for a big-name opponent on Oct,” said @MikeCoppinger
Not a new deal but an amended one. Lopez signed a five-year deal with Top Rank ahead of his pro debut in November 2016. Includes two-year option, so will nearly run through the end of 2023. The relationship between Teofimo and TR apparently repaired with him eyeing Oct. 2 return on the ESPN platform.”
We’ll have to see if the relationship between Teofimo and Top Rank is repaired or not. But with this new amended deal, Teofimo gets his way with his fights being placed on PPV.
It could be bad for him if they bomb one after another on ESPN PPV due to him choosing lesser-name fighters like Kambosos Jr instead of facing Lomachenko in a rematch.