Teofimo Lopez Vs. Matias: No PPV, good news for fans
WBO light welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez’s potential title defense against #4 Subriel Matias on March 15 could be shown on regular ESPN rather than PPV. This is good news for fans, who would otherwise be reluctant to dig deep to pay to see this fight.
Boxingscene’s Lance Pugmire reports that Teofimo’s promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank, is not excited about putting this fight on PPV due to the ongoing piracy issue. This reduces profits for the promoters, making some of the events less worthwhile to put behind a paywall.
Lopes vs. Matias: 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 PPV fighters. Not a pay-per-view worthy match, unfortunately. Matias is not a household name in the US and Teofimo has been inconsistent in his fights over the past four years.
For Teofimo to be in a PPV match, he needs someone popular, like one of these fighters:
– Ryan Garcia
– Devin Haney
– Gervonta Davis
– Shakur Stevenson
– Terence Crawford
– Jaron Ennis
None of these guys have shown any interest in fighting Teo, which is understandable because it’s not a draw. He’s also had a string of controversial wins over the past five years that make him a risk in the fight. The last thing these guys need is to be on the receiving end of a hometown decision against Lopez.
You just don’t know what you’re going to get with Theo. He looks great and then looks terrible against the opposition, which is designed for window dressing. His demeanor outside the ring is strange, with him saying strange things during interviews.
Teofimo needs a good PR coach to give him talking points for his interviews and control his tendency to be a mobile mouth, as if coming from left field.
Teo’s lack of appeal
Although Teofimo, 27, is a two-division world champion, he has not been able to become a huge attraction due to his loss to George Kambosos, controversial decisions against Jamaine Ortiz and Sandor Martin and a lack of fights against big opponents.
Lopez has only fought one popular fighter in his nine-year career, Vassily Lomachenko, who he last fought five years ago in 2020.
Matias, 32, promoted by Matchroom, lost his IBF 140-lb title to Liam Paro, losing a 12-round unanimous decision on June 15 last year in Manati, Puerto Rico. Matias did not perform well in that defeat, he was eliminated by Paros. In Matias’ last fight, he stopped Roberto Ramirez in the second round on November 9.
Lopez’s last five contests
– Steve Claggett: UD 12
– Jamaine Ortiz: UD 12 (*controversial)
– Josh Taylor: UD 12
– Sandor Martin: SD 10 (*controversial)
– Pedro Campa: TKO 7
Teofimo should move up to welterweight and chase one of the world champions, like Brian Norman or Eimantas Stanionis. IBF champion Jaron Ennis is reportedly not interested in fighting Lopez, but could change his mind if he gets his hands on a belt. Ennis is hungry for a belt.
If you’re a Top, you must be scratching your head wondering how to turn Lopez into a sta. He has gone downhill since the one big win of his career against Lomachenko.
2025-01-01 17:06:00