Potential WBO welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez’s title defense against No. 4 Subriel Matias on March 15 could be shown on regular ESPN, not PPV. That’s 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 because of the piracy issue going on. That cuts into the profits for the promoters, making some of the events not worth being placed behind a paywall.
Lopez 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. It’s not a fight that’s pay-per-view worthy, unfortunately. Matias is not a household name in the United States, and Teofimo has been erratic in his fights over the past four years.
For Teofimo 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 any interest in fighting Teo, which is understandable because it’s not a draw. In addition, he has had a string of controversial victories in the last five years that make him risky in the fight. The last thing these guys need is to be on the receiving end of a hometown decision against Lopez.
You don’t know what you’re going to get with Teo. It looks great and then looks terrible against the opposition, which is designed for showcase purposes. His behavior outside the ring is strange, with him saying strange things during interviews.
Teofimo needs a good public relations coach to give him talking points for his interviews and control his tendency to be a motor mouth, which sounds like it’s coming from left field.
Teo’s lack of appeal
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 Martin, and the lack of fights against ‘to the big-name opposition.
Lopez has only fought one popular fighter in his nine-year career, Vasily Lomachenko, who 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 didn’t do well in that loss, getting poked and prodded by Paro. In Matias’ last fight, he stopped Roberto Ramirez in the second round on November 9th.
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 needs to move to welterweight and go after one of the world champions, like Brian Norman or Eimantas Stanionis. IBF champion Jaron Ennis isn’t interested in fighting Lopez, but he could change his mind if he gets his hands on a belt. Ennis is hungry for belt.
If you are Top Rank, you will be scratching your head and wondering how to turn Lopez into a star. He has gone downhill since his career-high victory against Lomachenko.
