Teofimo: Why He Refused Haney Fight – Feared Robbery & Lawsuit

Teofimo Lopez revealed tonight on social media that his decision not to fight Devin Haney in Saudi Arabia on August 16th was because he felt that the only way he could win was by knocking Dev out. Lopez says Haney (32-0, 15 KOs) is close with Turki Alalshikh. So, if he went to Riyadh to fight him, he wouldn’t have won unless he knocked him out.

Lopez Feared Haney Robbery

Lopez (22-1, 13 KOs) didn’t want to give them a chance to rob him. He was also worried that even if he’d won, the Haney’s would have fought a way to sue him to take away his victory. He thinks that they don’t care that they would lose. The Haney’s just want the money, and then they’ll sue.

“Why even give people the chance that they thought they could do something to us?” said Teofimo Lopez on social media about why he chose not to agree to fight Devin Haney on August 16th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. “Tank talks about how he heard that Haney is his guy.”

Lopez says he would be doing Devin a favor by fighting him now because his stock is so low after his performance on the May 2nd card at Times Square in New York against Jose Ramirez. They need him.

“So, if Haney is his guy and they want me to go that way, isn’t it stating it out without stating that I’m meant to lose while I’m over there?” said Teofimo. “The only way I get to win is by knocking him out, and that’s what Tank said, too. The only way we get the job done is by knocking him out, and I’m not taking away from my skillset.”

The way Haney moved around against Ramirez, Teofimo wouldn’t get the chance to knock him out because he would be moving and holding all night.

Contract Issues Led Refusal

“Things weren’t met contractually. I’m not going to go over there [Saudi Arabia] and not know what’s going to happen.. This only helps the Haneys. The Haneys don’t care about that [losing to him]. They need the money, and they’ll figure out how to sue me. Show up, throw punches, and not just move around the ring for 12 rounds,” said Teo about Devin.

“I grew up with a lot of different styles. That’s not boxing [how Haney fights]. They should have Rolly fight Haney,” said Teofimo.