The potential defense of WBO light welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez 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 dive in and pay to watch this fight.
Boxingscene's Lance Pugmire reports that Teofimo's promoter, Top Rank's Bob Arum, is not keen on putting this fight on PPV due to the ongoing piracy issue. This cuts into promoters' profits, making some events less important to put behind a paywall.
Lopez vs. Matias: No PPV
Compounding the problem is that Teofimo (21-1, 13 KOs) and former IBF light welterweight champion Mathias (21-2, 21 KOs) are not PPV fighters. It's not a pay-per-view fight, unfortunately. Mathias is not a household name in the United States, and Teofimo has been inconsistent in his fights over the past four years.
For Teofimo to participate in a PPV fight, he needs someone famous, like one of these fighters:
– Ryan Garcia
-Devin Haney
-Gervonta Davis
– Shakur Stevenson
– Terence Crawford
-Jaron Ennis
None of these guys have shown interest in fighting Teo, which is understandable since he's not even. He also has a string of controversial victories in the past five years which makes him a risky fighter. 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 what it's designed for display purposes. His behavior outside the ring is strange, saying strange things during interviews.
Teofimo needs a good PR coach to give him talking points in his interviews and control his tendency to be a mobile mouth, sounding like he's coming from left field. It needs to be written.
Teo's lack of appeal
Although Teofimo, 27, is a two-division world champion, he has failed to become a major attraction due to his loss to Jorge Kambosos, controversial decisions against Jamin Ortiz and Sandor Martin, and a lack of fights against big-name opposition.
Lopez has only faced one popular fighter during his nine-year career, Vasiliy Lomachenko, who last fought five years ago, in 2020.
Matias, 32, who was promoted on Matchroom, lost his IBF 140lb title to Liam Barrow, losing a 12-round unanimous decision on June 15 last year in Manatee, Puerto Rico. Mathias did not fare well in that loss, as he was outmaneuvered and roughed up by Barrow. In Matias's last fight, he stopped Roberto Ramirez in the second round on November 9.
Lopez's last five contests
-Steve Claggett: UD12
– Jamin Ortiz: UD 12 (*controversial)
-Josh Taylor: UD12
– Sandor Martin: SD 10 (*controversial)
– Pedro Campa: TKO 7
Teofimo needs to move up to welterweight and go after a world champion, like Brian Norman or Imantas Stanionis. IBF champion Jaron Ennis is reportedly not interested in fighting Lopez, but he may change his mind if he gets his hands on the belt. Ennis is hungry for the belt.
If you're at the top of the ranks, you have to be hitting your head wondering how to turn Lopez into a star. He has been on a downward spiral since his big win of his career against Lomachenko.
