Teofimo Lopez took shots at Devin Haney and Arnold Barboza Jr while officially “ending” his “retirement,” confirming that he will keep his WBO 140 lb title.
Lopez took the bigger shot at Haney, saying he’s “tired of helping this kid be something that he is not, and that’s a real champion”:
Came out of retirement (I guess) because the next move was for Devin Haney to fight sorry ass Arnold Barboza for my WBO championship title at 140lbs.
F’ that. I’m tired of helping this kid be something that he is not. And that’s a real champion!
— Teofimo Lopez (@TeofimoLopez) July 13, 2023
Lopez, of course, is referring to the endless nonsense that was the WBC’s lightweight title situation, a debacle created entirely by Vasiliy Lomachenko and the WBC, and really having nothing to do in a negative light with either Teofimo or Devin.
If you’re familiar with the whole mess, you don’t need it gone over again, but it does make one wonder how Teofimo ever has “helped” Haney be any sort of “champion,” real or not. By losing to George Kambosos Jr?
Anyway, Lopez says he wants the Haney fight, as we discussed before, but there are options for others.
If Haney stays at 135, he’s said he’d prefer Gervonta Davis, which would necessitate a deal with PBC, and there’s also Shakur Stevenson or a Vasiliy Lomachenko rematch if he decides to go with Top Rank again.
If Haney moves to 140, there’s WBC titleholder Regis Prograis along with Lopez; the Lopez fight should be bigger money, but DAZN and Matchroom are a little desperate for marquee names right now, and might offer Haney more to fight Prograis than he’d get to fight Lopez.
As we also discussed before, don’t count Matchroom and DAZN out of trying to make the Lopez vs Haney fight themselves, either. Both Teofimo and Devin are free agents at the moment.
Arnold Barboza Jr kinda caught a stray here, but if Teofimo stays active and doesn’t fight Haney, Barboza is his No. 1-ranked contender. Unless the WBO makes him officially the mandatory challenger, though, he could be leapfrogged by No. 2-ranked contender Jose Ramirez, as Lopez and his team may see Ramirez as a bigger fight. They’d probably be right. Ramirez does have a bigger name, even if he isn’t much of a draw outside of Fresno.
All of this will play out how it’s going to play out, but what an odd bunch of stuff considering nothing has actually changed. Lopez shockingly is NOT retired, who could have guessed it, and he is still WBO titlist at 140. Haney is still undisputed at 135. Barboza and Ramirez are still where they were two days ago.
But never let it be said that anything with Teofimo is dull.