Teofimo Lopez has put Devin Haney on notice that he wants him next after informing the WBO president Paco Valcarcel on Wednesday night that he will retain his 140-lb title. If this fight gets made, it’ll be a massive PPV contest on ESPN.
Teofimo let Haney (30-0, 15 KOs) know on Twitter tonight that he’s “tired of helping” him, and he’s not going to give him his WBO belt.
You could tell that Teofimo didn’t want to allow Haney to capitalize on his hard work by giving up his WBO belt that he’d captured last June against champion Josh Taylor.
Teo says he came out of retirement because Haney was going to fight #1 Arnold Barboza Jr for his belt, and he’s not going to let that happen.
With the WBO 140-lb belt still in his possession, Teofimo has the royal crown to be the A-side in the negotiations with Haney and informed him of that tonight.
This could be a really big fight if Top Rank is able to put it together between Haney & Teofimo. These are two big egos, and they could find it difficult to iron out a deal if they’re both stubborn. Devin says Teofimo wanted $20 million the last time he attempted to put a fight together with him, and that sunk the negotiations on the spot.
Lopez (19-1, 18 KOs) let the WBO know his plans on keeping his 140-lb title ahead of their 9 pm ET deadline on Wednesday evening. If he’d given it up, the WBO had already ordered Arnold Barboza Jr and Jose Ramirez to fight for the belt.
Now, that fight is not needed unless the WBO can make an interim belt available. It’s still a great fight that would put the winner in a position to face the Teofimo vs. Haney winner.
The way Teofimo looked in his victory over Josh Taylor last June in New York, he’ll likely be the odds-maker’s favorite over Haney because he looked impressive in that fight.
There’s no question that Devin will be a 140-lb belt-holder at some point, be it against Teofimo, Regis Prograis, or Subriel Matias. Haney is young enough to pick up a light welterweight title eventually, but the only question is will it be against Teofimo?
Haney (30-0, 15 KOs) has been all over the place recently, talking about Regis Prograis, Gervonta Davis, and Vasily Lomachenko possible fights.
The one name that some boxing fans have wanted to hear out of Haney’s mouth is Shakur Stevenson, and he’s not talked of wanting to fight him.
