Teofimo Lopez’s Refusal to Fight Matias Highlights His Decline

Promoter Bob Arum is frustrated about what he can do for Teofimo Lopez after his latest rejection of a fight against Subriel Matias. The Top Rank boss points out that he offered fights to WBO light welterweight champion Teofimo (21-1, 13 KOs), and nothing happened.

Teofimo’s Decline

Lopez lacks self-awareness and doesn’t realize his stock has bottomed out since his loss to George Kambosos. He’s not able to call the shots and get the fights he wants. Moreover, Teo turns down the offers to help him rebuild his brand.

Fans no longer think much of Teofimo, and the newer ones have no clue who he is. His recent performance against journeyman Steve Claggett was something awful, showing that’s the level he’s operating at.

Arum isn’t saying who he’ll offer to Lopez next, but if he’s lucky, he might get a chance at fighting Ryan Garcia if he whips Devin Haney in their rematch this year. Garcia will likely easily win that fight, and he’ll need Teofimo next if he doesn’t price himself out with some wacky demand. Lopez must understand that he’s not the A-side for fights against Haney and Ryan. They’re arguably bigger names than him.

It wouldn’t have been that way if Teofimo hadn’t made a mess of his career since 2021, looking horrible in almost every fight since his narrow win over Vasily Lomachenko in 2020. Something changed with Teo after that fight, and some believe that the punishment that he took in that grueling match wrecked him. He now looks clueless in the ring, and he talks nonsense during interviews.

It seems it will end badly between Arum and Teofimfo, as the Brooklyn, New York native is ruining his career by turning down fights. Teo is like a rapidly growing cancer now; there’s likely no way of cutting it out.

Thus far, Lopez has shown no ability to beat cutting-edge opposition. He’s struggled against contenders, losing to George Kambosos Jr. and being gifted two controversial decisions against Jamaine Ortiz and Sandor Martin. Many fans feel Teofimo lost both fights, which means his true record should be 19-3, not 21-1.

Arum’s Frustration

Although Arum hasn’t given up on the once-promising 27-year-old Lopez, he sounds hopeless. Teofimo hasn’t performed well in five out of his last six fights since 2021, and he still believes he’s an elite-level fighter. He’s wasted time calling out fighters above his class, like Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis and Terence Crawford.

It might be better for Arum to wash his hands of Teofimo and say, ‘Good riddance.’ He’s NOT going to turn his career around to be the fighter that many fans thought he would be when things were going well for him from 2018 to 2020. Again, the Lomachenko is where things changed. Teofimo is not the same fighter.

Some of that might be because he’s no longer fighting at 135, and he doesn’t have the size advantage he routinely enjoyed when competing against smaller fighters at lightweight. If you compare Teofimo’s size to Lomachenko’s on the night of the fight, it’s pretty clear that he was competing outside of his weight class.

Since moving up to 140, Lopez looks average and should have lost twice against Jamaine and Sandor. You can only imagine what talents like Jose ‘Rayo’ Valenzuela, Alberto Puerllo, Ryan, and Haney would have done to Teofimo if they’d fought him by now.