Teofimo: No “stool” for Matias

Looking dark and terrifying as a vampire at the Ring Awards on Saturday, Teofimo Lopez says he decided not to fight Subriel Matias because he didn’t want to be a “stool” to help the recently defeated IBF light welterweight champion.

He says Matias wasn’t going to win the fight and he didn’t feel he had anything to gain by helping rebuild the former champion. Even though Teo had been helped to rebuild after his loss, he saw no point in helping someone else in the same position he was in in 2021.

Additionally, Lopez (21-1, 13 KOs) says he wanted a “bigger guarantee” after Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said the fight was not PPV worthy. It is not clear what kind of money Teofimo, 27, wanted to get from Top Rank as “insurance”, but no deal could be reached.

Teofimo is now sitting on the shelf without a fight, and has been out of the ring for seven months since his harder-than-expected victory over incumbent Steve Claggett on June 29 last year.

Lopez says Matias was the only option Top Rank gave him. It wasn’t about “multiple options”, and he claims he “put his foot down” because he is tired of the “take it or leave it” fights that have been proposed to him.

“I feel like it’s time for me to get bigger and better fights. Matias is trying to bounce back from losing to Liam Paro in his country,” Teofimo Lopez told Fight Hub TV on why he turned down a fight against Subriel Matias. “I think by doing that, why am I going to be this guy’s stool?

“He’s not going to win. Of course not. Bob Arum, CEO of Top Rank, mentioned that the fight is not pay-per-view worthy. I agree. Bob Arum, the chairman, said so. Whoever else was involved in this situation, I really wanted to push the PPV.

“I said if that’s the case, I need insurance. “Give me a bigger guarantee and then we could start talking about fighting. I’m ready to fight now. Things did not work out on terms. They demolished it. They said I acted in bad faith for the fight, but in reality they only gave us one option,” said Lopez.

In hindsight, Teofimo made the right decision not to take the fight with Matias (21-2, 21 KOs) because there was an excellent chance he would have lost it. Matias would thrive against Lopez’s fighting style, and is on another level from George Kambosos Jr, who proved to be Teo’s kryptonite.

New York native Lopez can’t stand pressure fighters. We saw it against Kambosos, Jamaine Ortiz, and in the late rounds of his 2020 win against Vasily Lomachenko in 2020.

“There weren’t multiple fighter options, and they didn’t want to do unifications,” Teofimo said of Top Rank. “They didn’t want to pay certain fighters x amount of dollars. I just don’t get it. It seems like a shot at me. I’ll take that as my opinion as my market.”

It’s understandable why Top Rank wouldn’t pay an arm and a leg to set up a unification match for Teofimo against one of the other champions because it wouldn’t be PPV. He’s not popular enough, and the other champions at 140 aren’t big names.

The light welterweight champions

– Jose ‘Rayo’ Valenzuela
– Richardson Hitchins
– Alberto Puello

“You have to think about it as a business perspective, and I’m coming this year,” Teofimo said. “Wouldn’t you rather see it on linear television open to the public than the first year it comes back in 2025, I do PPV? Why would I charge you? You guys are there to watch us. It should be free. ESPN and the network, they still get their cut, and so do we. Let’s leave it open to everyone.

“I just put my foot down. I’ve been doing take-it-or-leave-it fights for you guys (Top Rank), and I can’t do it anymore,” Lopez said.