Forbes’ Brian Mazique claims that Teofimo Lopez and Devin Haney are “negotiating” a 2025 title fight that would headline a “massive” card on ESPN.
Though Haney’s (31-0, 15 KO) WBC super lightweight title wasn’t on the line for his loss to an overweight Ryan Garcia, this won’t be a unification bout, as Haney successfully petitioned the WBC to name him “champion in recess” rather than force a mandatory defense against Sandor Martin. Martin will instead face newly elevated champion Alberto Puello sometime in the near future; the pair intended to meet on PBC’s December 14th Gervonta Davis vs Lamont Roach Jr show, which remains in scheduling limbo.
It’s still a big fight on paper, albeit less so than before. Though he was unambiguously wronged, Haney’s response to the Garcia loss has been off-putting at best and Lopez (21-1, 13 KO) has peppered a series of underwhelming performances with idiotic comments. I dread the press conferences if this gets over the finish line.
That’s still a sizable “if” at the moment. The WBO claims they’ll appoint a mandatory challenger soon, most likely either Jack Catterall or the winner of Jose Ramirez vs Arnold Barboza Jr this coming Saturday. Lopez is overdue for a mandatory defense and secondary titles don’t qualify for the unification exemption.