UNIFIED lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez has suggested he could follow in Floyd Mayweather’s footsteps and leave Top Rank Boxing.
Despite recently shocking the world with a stunning performance against Vasily Lomachenko, Lopez is seemingly unhappy with his current promoters.
Teofimo Lopez has suggested he could soon leave Top RankCredit: Getty
Veteran promoter Bob Arum could soon lose Teofimo LopezCredit: Getty
And The Takeover has suggested he could soon move on to pastures new, telling ESPN: “I’m looking forward, and I’m moving forward
“If you can’t meet the terms, then like I said, I’m taking my talents somewhere else.
“Because you got the best fighter in the world on that display. It’s all paid dues.
“And that’s what we did; we paid our dues. I am your favourite fighter’s favourite fighter.
“That sets the tone, and I think that everybody needs to realise that.
“I am the truth. I am the best in the division. I can’t take it or leave it no more. It’s more so about it’s a takeover.
“I earned it. It’s not something that’s a given. You’ve gotta earn it.”
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Should Lopez make the shock decision to leave Top Rank, who landed him the fight with Lomachenko, he would emulate Mayweather’s acrimonious departure from Bob Arum’s stable in 2006.
Mayweather bought himself out of his deal with Top Rank for £538,000 ($750,000) and subsequently went on to become the biggest pay-per-view star in the history of boxing.
The Money man reflected on the decision during a 2018 interview with FightHype, saying: “As of today, the worst thing I ever did in my career was sign with Top Rank
“One of my family members was money hungry and went behind my back. That’s the worst thing I ever did.
“The worst thing I ever did was sign with Top Rank, because I was destined to be big anyway. I was destined to be a superstar anyway.”
Lopez’s apparent willingness to leave Top Rank will be music to the ears of Matchroom Boxing chief Eddie Hearn, who wants to win the purse bid for the 23-year-old’s next fight.
Floyd Mayweather bought himself out of his deal with Top Rank in 2006Credit: AP
During an appearance on the The Ak & Barak Show, Hearn said: “There you’ve got a guy like Teofimo Lopez, who’s aligned to ESPN, Bob Arum’s saying, ‘This is the max I’m gonna pay you.’
“Teofimo Lopez is going, ‘Hmm. You know what? Let’s see what the marketplace is saying.
“‘So, let’s see what Eddie Hearn and DAZN wanna put up for this fight. Let’s see what PBC wanna put up for this fight, if you don’t give me the money that I want.’ ”
He added: “Now we’re in a position where if that goes to purse bids, we can bid. You know, DAZN might win that bid.
“But then, all of a sudden, the arguments start with Bob Arum and Teofimo Lopez. ‘You know, you can’t fight on another network. You know, your contract says this. Your contract says that.’
“So, then you’ve gotta vacate the belt. As [Lopez] said there, ‘I ain’t vacating no belt.’
“So, this is gonna be a very interesting week. It just changes the dynamic of things.
“You know, it puts more pressure on Top Rank and Bob Arum to make that deal with Teofimo Lopez, while Teofimo and his father right now are probably sitting back, going, ‘We’re cool with purse bids.’ You know, so this week’s gonna be interesting.”
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Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
