Teofimo López vs. Matías: No PPV, good news for fans

WBO light welterweight champion Teófimo López’s possible title defense against No. 4 Subriel Matías on March 15 could be shown on regular ESPN, not PPV. That’s good news for fans who might otherwise be reluctant to pay to see this fight.

Boxingscene’s Lance Pugmire reports that Teofimo’s promoter, Top Rank’s Bob Arum, is not enthusiastic about putting this fight on PPV due to the piracy issue going on. That reduces promoters’ profits, making some of the events worth putting behind a paywall.

Lopez vs. Matías: No PPV

Compounding the problem is that Teofimo (21-1, 13 KOs) and former IBF light welterweight champion Matias (21-2, 21 KOs) are not pay-per-view fighters. Unfortunately, it’s not a fight worthy of a PPV. Matías is not a well-known name in the United States and Teofimo has been erratic in his fights in the last four years.

For Teófimo to be in a PPV fight he needs someone popular, like one of these fighters:

– Ryan Garcia
-Devin Haney
–Gervonta Davis
– Shakur Stevenson
–Terence Crawford
– Jaron Ennis

None of those guys have shown interest in fighting Teo, which is understandable because it’s not a draw. In addition, he has had a series of controversial victories in the last five years that make him risky in the fight. The last thing those guys need is to be on the receiving end of a local decision against Lopez.

You just don’t know what you’re going to find with Teo. He looks great and then looks terrible against the opposition, which is designed for exhibition purposes. His behavior outside the ring is strange, as he says strange things during interviews.

Teófimo needs a good public relations coach to give him talking points for his interviews and control his tendency to be a motorized talker, who sounds like he’s coming from left field.

Teo’s lack of attractiveness

Although Teofimo, 27, is a two-division world champion, he has failed to become a major attraction due to his loss to George Kambosos, controversial decisions against Jamaine Ortiz and Sandor Martín, and lack of fights against big-name opponents.

Lopez has only fought one popular fighter in his nine-year career, Vasily Lomachenko, whom he last fought five years ago in 2020.

Matias, 32, promoted by Matchroom, lost his IBF 140-pound title to Liam Paro, losing a 12-round unanimous decision on June 15 of last year in Manatí, Puerto Rico. Matías did not perform well in that defeat, being outmatched and mistreated by Paro. In Matías’ last fight, he stopped Roberto Ramírez in the second round on November 9.

López’s last five contests

– Steve Claggett: UD 12
– Jamaine Ortiz: UD 12 (*controversy)
– Josh Taylor: UD 12
– Sandor Martín: SD 10 (*controversy)
– Pedro Campa: TKO 7

Teofimo needs to move up to welterweight and go after one of the world champions, like Brian Norman or Eimantas Stanionis. IBF champion Jaron Ennis is reportedly not interested in fighting Lopez, but he might change his mind if he lands a belt. Ennis is hungry for a belt.

If you’re Top Rank, you’ll have to bang your head and wonder how to turn Lopez into a sta. He’s been going downhill since the big win of his career against Lomachenko.