Promoter Bob Arum is frustrated with what he can do for Teofimo Lopez after his last fight rejection against Subriel Matias. The head of Top Rank points out that he offered fights to WBO light heavyweight champion Teofim (21-1, 13 KOs), but nothing happened.
The fall of Theophimus
Lopez lacks self-awareness and doesn’t get it his stock bottomed out since his loss to George Kamboos. He is unable to decide and win the fights he wants. Furthermore, Theo refuses offers to help him rebuild his brand.
Fans don’t think much of Teofim anymore, and newer ones have no idea who he is. His recent performance against the journeyman Steve Claggett was something terrible, showing that this is the level at which he operates.
Arum isn’t saying who he’ll offer Lopez next, but if he’s lucky, he could get a chance to fight Ryan Garcia if he beats Devin Haney in their rematch this year. Garcia will probably win that fight easily, and he’ll need Teofimo next if he doesn’t pay off with some wacky demands. Lopez needs to realize that he is not the A-side for the fights against Hani and Ryan. They are probably bigger names than him.
That wouldn’t be the case if Teofimo hadn’t wreaked havoc on his career since 2021, looking terrible in nearly every fight since a narrow win over Vassily Lomachenko in 2020. Something changed with Theo after that fight, and some believe the punishment he received in that grueling match destroyed him. Now he looks silly in the ring, and talks nonsense during interviews.
looks like it will end badly between Arum and Theophimphus, as Brooklyn, the New Yorker ruins his career by turning down fights. Theo is now like a rapidly growing cancer; there’s probably no way to cut it.
So far, Lopez hasn’t shown the ability to beat top opposition. He fought against rivals, losing to George Cambossos Jr. and winning two controversial decisions against Jemaine Ortiz and Sandor Martin. Many fans believe Teofimo lost both fights, meaning his true record should be 19-3, not 21-1.
Arum’s frustration
While Arum hasn’t given up on the once-promising 27-year-old Lopez, it sounds hopeless. Teofimo has not played well in five of his last six fights since 2021, and he still believes he is an elite-level fighter. He wasted no time calling out fighters above his class, such as Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis and Terence Crawford.
Perhaps it would be better for Arum to wash his hands of Theophimus and say, ‘He has acquitted himself well.’ He will NOT turn his career around to be the fighter many fans thought he would be when things went well for him from 2018 to 2020. Again, Lomachenko is where things have changed. Teofimo is not the same fighter.
Some of that may be because he’s no longer fighting at 135, and doesn’t have the size advantage he’s routinely enjoyed when competing against smaller lightweights. If you compare Teofim’s size to Lomachenko’s on fight night, it’s pretty clear that he was competing outside of his weight class.
Since moving up to 140, Lopez has looked average and should have lost twice to Jamaine and Sandor. You can only imagine what talents like Jose ‘Rayo’ Valenzuela, Alberto Puerlo, Ryan and Haynie would have done to Teofimo if they had fought him thus far.
Bob Arum on Teofimo Lopez: “The question is what won’t he refuse?” Where is his head? Who does he want to fight? We gave him a whole group of fighters. And it’s not like it has great performance. He looked terrible with (Jamaine) Ortiz and people thought he lost that… pic.twitter.com/P2JM1gG9iZ
— Ring Magazine (@ringmagazine) January 14, 2025