Teófimo López vs. Matias: No PPV, good news for fans

WBO light welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez’s potential title defense against No. 4 Subriel Matias on March 15 could be shown on regular ESPN, not PPV. This is good news for fans, who would otherwise be reluctant to delve into paying 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 piracy issue going on. This reduces promoters’ profits, making some of the events less valuable for 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. Unfortunately, it’s not a pay-per-view worthy fight. Matias is not a household name in the US, 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 these guys have shown any interest in fighting Teo, which is understandable because it’s not a draw. Also, he’s 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 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 PR coach to give him talking points for his interviews and control his tendency to be a mouthful, sounding like he’s coming from left field.

Teo’s lack of attractiveness

Although the 27-year-old Teofimo 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 a lack of fights against renowned opposition.

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

Matias, 32, promoted by Matchroom, lost his IBF 140lb 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, and was kicked out and abused by Paro. In Matias’ last fight, he stopped Roberto Ramírez in the second round on November 9th.

López’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 up to welterweight and go after one of the world champions, like Brian Norman or Eimantas Stanionis. IBF champion Jaron Ennis is not interested in fighting Lopez, but could change his mind if he gets his hands on the belt. Ennis is hungry for a belt.

If you’re Top Rank, you’ve got to be scratching your head and wondering how to turn Lopez into a staff. He has gone downhill since his career-high win against Lomachenko.