Topic: Boxing: Josh Taylor vs Teofimo Lopez (Read 1118 times)

That's what him and his father wanted, and I do agree that it might be a bait for promoters after his contract with Top Rank. But if they are asking for too much money then I doubt that promoters are going to bite on it. He even doesn't crack the pound for pound list. Although he is a great boxer, but still his level might not be that elite for now.


We will see, now that Regis Prograis has won and defended his belt and calling for him. Maybe in the next coming months he might come out of his retirement and have a unification fight with Prograis.

I read in one caption on social media that he wants more if he wants to make a comeback maybe a bait for promoters to give what he wants because he totally dominated Taylor and won the undisputed title, but it's early to ask for that he is not yet fully established his name as a pound for pound fighter, there are other boxers who still has a claim for that title.

We'll know in the coming months if he is that serious or the boxing organizations will have to order championship fights on all their top-ranking contenders, and Taylor will have a chance at that.

Nah! I don't think that Lopez is really serious about that statement because he just became a star in super-light and achieve a difficult feat that not everybody can achieve. And now he's retiring? I don't really think so. I view it as a tactic so that he can have what he wanted but I doubt as well that he can get what he want as he's still starting to build his career from scratch. Too early for him to demand though.

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So Regis Prograis himself admitted that he had a hard time deciding between Top Rank and Matchroom. Accordingly, his final decision was more on his plan of becoming a promoter. Personally, I don't think he will become successful as a promoter or he is just making this as an alibi. This decision costs him his so-called prime targets and the bigger money offered by Top Rank. He actually signed into a promoter with less money and with zero of his targeted names.

Regis Prograis' main targets are Ramirez, Taylor,  Lopez, and Matias. All of these big names are under Top Rank except for Matias the least popular of that list. Even if Ramirez and Lopez leave Top Rank; Taylor moves up in weight and Matias leaves PBC, still it is a fact that there are no guarantees that they will sign with Matchroom. Actually, there is a higher chance that most of these fighters will just renew their contracts. In the end, Matias never went to Matchroom and stayed with PBC. We'll see if Ramirez and Lopez stay with Top Rank too but I expected them to renew as well.

So Prograis is now fighting Zorilla compared to Top Rank's first fight offer against Barboza. Barboza alone is many times more popular and bigger money and already beat Zorilla by an easy decision. So I cannot stop myself from thinking that either Prograis made a stupid decision with lesser money which is probably the result of his boastful claim that he can manage himself rather than hire a professional and influential boxing manager. Or he is actually just scared of fighting all the big names in the division where most of them are still legally under Top Rank. So it's like Prograis is secretly happy fighting nobodies with lesser money for as long as he can milk his belt for a long period of time.


source: https://sports.yahoo.com/why-regis-prograis-turned-down-top-ranks-more-lucrative-offer-and-signed-with-matchroom-193141665.html#:~:text=From%20a%20Top%20Rank%20standpoint,with%20the%20company%20into%202025.

That numbers might be the just the guarantee price, or what he will get on the money in the table, the fight split. And then we still have the PPV numbers coming in and for sure they will also split that up.

But it seems that he is not contented with that kind of money, and he wanted more from contract on his promoters or network affiliations. I don't see him getting any bigger than that though, unless he is on the 147 lbs, the money weight class. But let's see if he will continue to go on his retirement or make a comeback as he is just bluffing to a new and bigger money.

^ It boils down to boxing politics, or maybe those greedy promotional company who just wanted all the money that they can squeeze from their fighters and so it should be in-house fight. Or if there are so much money then they could work it out and put aside their difference.

But for Teo Lopez or even Regis Prograis, I think this fight can still be made, that is if Lopez will un-retire.

Regis fight I do agree that it is very obvious a cherry pick fight by Eddie Hearn. And if Regis win then most likely Match Room will have to find a better fighter for him next as they have the leverage as Prograis is a champion.

It seems to be that case and I cannot blame him if he thinks that way because Top Rank has indeed been having some difficulties in the recent years to make a big fight with other big boxers because it is already known that Bob Arum doesn't have any good relationship with Eddie Hear nor with Al Haymon.
Now we know that PBC and Matchroom does have their own big boxers that is also a champion in their respective division and sooner or later, if these two giants will have the most place in every division, then for sure Bob Arum will continue to face hardship because his own boxer cannot achieve their dreams because of the mentioned conflicts.

From what I understand from Regis, he said that maybe Teo Lopez might get just finished his contract with Top Rank and same with Josh Taylor. And later on we find out that Kambosos did renew his contract with Top Rank.

So in any case, he thinks that TR can't offer him fights that he wanted at 140 lbs so he jump on the bandwagon with Eddie Hearn at Match Room.

And who is he fighting for his debut with his new promotional company? Zorilla, Lol, Zorilla is a 8:1 underdog against Prograis. Probably just a get busy or tune up fight for Regis here.

https://www.boxing247.com/boxing-news/regis-prograis-faces-danielito-zorrilla-on-saturday-wants-subriel-matias-next/264615

So he is defending his WBC belt for the first time against a low rank 140 lbs. So that is the best Match Room can offer for him. 

They can make the unification fight happen as long as both promoters will agree but seeing their situation now, it's not a good time for them as they may be the current champions but their names is still not ringing a bell for most people to make their fight bigger. It's still preferred if both of them will have a few title defense to market their own name and make it more known in the industry.

So from $3 million to $100 million, that's a big jump. He must be out of his mind as the numbers he is expecting seem unrealistic. He will have a big fight soon, but it will not easily reach that number since he has to continue building his legacy. Maybe if he beats the top 10 boxers in the world that are on the division that he can fight and dominates them, then going to stardom would be easier for him, and that money he is expecting would be possible.

I believe Teofimo easily earned a minimum of $2 million in that fight which might reach $3 million if the numbers did well.

Prograis is also bluffing. He said he wanted Ramirez and Taylor rematch yet he signed with Matchroom. He said he was offered bigger money by Top Rank but why did he decide to join Matchroom? Prograis is just talking about fighting the top dogs but in reality, he does not want any of them. Now he is challenging Teofimo as if it is easy to make a deal between DAZN and ESPN. And I highly doubt a Lopez-Prograis unification bout can guarantee Teofimo $20 million. Teofimo can actually earn more by giving Kambosos a rematch or a Devin Haney fight or a Ramirez fight.

The element of money. Make a fuss and suddenly people will pump a trend about your fight and the champion. It actually works.
Here is the champs Regis Prograis's take on this retirement of Teofimo Lopez.
https://bloodyelbow.com/2023/06/14/teofimo-lopez-regis-prograis/

Personal issues, mental issues, divorce, and more. There's a lot going on in Teofimo Lopez's life and I doubt he could easily retire with less money in his hands. You are right @Yaunfitda he may be looking for that one big pay that will get him out of that problem. It may not even matter if it's a win or lose, as long as the money is there to save him from all these issues that he had been carrying. We saw him fight Josh Taylor in a dominating way, and if he is still asking if he still has it, yes he does.
Make that money, and retire in a secure way for a better life, I bet even his cornermen are giving him the same advice to end his career in a better position rather than now. Fighting whoever the champion will be after the Regis Prograis versus Danielito Zorrilla match will be the key to that target. It's just two days away.

Yes, this is also what I think about him declaring his retirement at a early age. Maybe he will just want another coverage on him or make a scene as you have said because for sure we are going to talk about his supposedly retirement. Maybe he is just waiting for the result of the Prograis fight and then challenge Prograis or who ever holds another belt in this division.

So it could be a bluff on his end so let's see how it will developed in the future. I also seriously doubt that he will just retire. There is also this element of money in this sports and he is always looking for a bigger pay so most likely he will have to play hard and then declare that he is coming back, win-win for him as there will be hype on his name again.

Knowing Teofimo Lopez based on his previous statements, he just loves to make a scene and considers himself a superstar. At least he isn't like Broner, who talks a lot but his actions don't speak volumes in the ring; this boxer isn't even a champion anymore. Anyway, regardless of what he says, let's not take it too seriously. What makes this guy special is his ability to win, and that's what matters most.

He may have overvalued himself; he is not on the same level as Mayweather or Pacquiao, who are worth that kind of money. He is not even considered one of the top 10 best fighters in the world, so asking for such a high payout after a big win against Taylor seems excessive. I believe he should focus on defending his belt against challengers and consider moving up to a higher weight class once he feels he has achieved more in his current division.

Lol! Of course, Teofimo Lopez is just bluffing. Tell WBO to strip him of his belt and make it vacant and Teofimo will cry out loud not to strip him and he is not really retiring.

Now Teofimo Lopez wanted $100 million for him to continue fighting. Of course, this is just another bluff, he is just trying to get the biggest possible money he can get in his next fight or contract.

And btw, Teofimo Lopez has not won the undisputed belt but only the WBO although he is now the lineal champion of the division which matters most. Josh Taylor already vacated the other 3 belts last year since the original plan was to move up in weight after struggling to make 140. 

He has been unpredictable, as if he doesn't cling too much to his accomplishments, believing that he can easily win a championship. Unlike other boxers who consistently fight challengers to retain their titles, this boxer is truly different—youthful and audacious. 

He'll have to confirm soon before the boxing governing bodies order the top boxers in that divisions to fight for those titles, these boxing organizations will need answers so they can order or re-arrange boxers for their respective titles, remember Teofimo won all titles if he can honor his duty as a champion then these boxing organizations will decide for themselves.

So he needs to confirm if this is really what he wants to retire or retain all the titles and fight whoever deserves to have a shot.

We will likely hear more from him in the future because it seems to me that he was just saying that without literally meaning every words of it and besides, I couldn't possibly fathom his sudden decision because that is surely not a reasonable remarks after having a huge feat and became the new WBO champion at 140 lbs. division. Unless, he's just afraid to add another loss in his record.

Maybe it's just a burst of emotion, that's why he has said that statement, I've read that he wants a nine-figure on his next fight or he will retire. Nine-figure means the minimum would be a hundred million dollars which I think is the biggest ever to be given as a guaranteed purse to a boxer if ever Top Rank heeds to his demand but I doubt he would receive this amount.

We have heard Teo Lopez issued statement which were out of the blue and this retirement thing is one of them but i guess this statement will not hold true in the future as he is in for a money fights whether he likes it or not, money will change everything including Teo's mind.