Teófimo López’s refusal to fight Matías highlights his decline

Promoter Bob Arum is frustrated by what he can do for Teofimo Lopez following his latest rejection of a fight against Subriel Matias. The Top Rank boss points out that he offered fights to WBO light welterweight champion Teofimo (21-1, 13 KOs), and nothing happened.

The decline of Teofimo

López lacks self-awareness and does not realize its shares have hit bottom since his loss to George Kambosos. He is not able to make the decisions and get the fights he wants. Additionally, Teo turns down offers to help him rebuild his brand.

Fans don’t think much about Teófimo anymore and the newer ones have no idea who he is. His recent action against the officer. Steve Claggett It was a horrible thing, showing that that’s the level he’s operating at.

Arum isn’t saying who he’ll offer Lopez to next, but if he’s lucky, he could get the chance to fight Ryan Garcia if he defeats Devin Haney in their rematch this year. Garcia will probably win that fight easily, and he’ll need Teofimo next if he doesn’t put a price on himself with some crazy demand. Lopez must understand that he is not the A-side for the fights against Haney and Ryan. They are arguably bigger names than him.

It wouldn’t have been this way if Teofimo hadn’t ruined his career since 2021, looking horrible in almost every fight since his narrow victory over Vasily Lomachenko in 2020. Something changed with Teo after that fight, and some believe the punishment he received in that exhausting match destroyed him. Now he seems clueless in the ring and talks nonsense during interviews.

seems it will end badly between Arum and Teofimfo, as the Brooklyn, New York, native is ruining his career by turning down fights. Teo is now like a rapidly growing cancer; There is probably no way to remove it.

So far, López has not demonstrated the ability to defeat the vanguard opposition. He has struggled against contenders, losing to George Kambosos Jr. and receiving two controversial decisions against Jamaine Ortiz and Sandor Martin. Many fans feel that Teofimo lost both fights, meaning his true record should be 19-3, not 21-1.

Arum’s frustration

Although Arum hasn’t given up on the once-promising Lopez, 27, he seems desperate. Teofimo has underperformed in five of his last six fights since 2021 and still believes he is an elite fighter. He’s wasted his time criticizing wrestlers above his class, like Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis and Terence Crawford.

Perhaps it would be better for Arum to wash his hands of Teofimo and say, “Goodbye.” He is NOT going to turn his career around to be the fighter many fans thought he would be when things were going well for him from 2018 to 2020. Once again, Lomachenko is where things changed. Teófimo is not the same fighter.

Some of that could be because he no longer fights at 135 pounds and doesn’t have the size advantage he typically enjoyed when competing against smaller fighters at lightweight. If you compare Teofimo’s size to Lomachenko’s on fight night, it’s pretty clear he was competing outside of his weight class.

Since moving up to 140, Lopez looks average and should have lost twice to Jamaine and Sandor. You can only imagine what talents like José ‘Rayo’ Valenzuela, Alberto Puerllo, Ryan and Haney would have done to Teófimo if they had already fought him.

Bob Arum on Teófimo López: “The question is what will he not reject? Where is your head? Who do you want to fight? We gave him a whole group of fighters. And it’s not that he’s having great performances. He looked terrible with (Jamaine) Ortiz and people thought he lost that… pic.twitter.com/P2JM1gG9iZ

– Ring Magazine (@ringmagazine) January 14, 2025