Teofimo: No “Step Stool” for Matias

Sporting a dark vampire look at the Ring Awards on Saturday, Teofimo Lopez says he chose not to fight Subriel Matias because he didn’t want a “step stool” to help the recently beaten IBF light welterweight champion. He says Matias had no intention of winning the fight. Didn’t help rebuild the former champion.

Additionally, Lopez (21-1, 13 KOs) says he wanted a “greater guarantee” after Top Rank leader Bob Arum said the fight was not PPV worthy. It is unclear what kind of money Teofimo, 27, wanted to get from Top Rank as his “insurance”, but an agreement could not be made.

Teofimo is now on the shelf with no fight, and he has been out of the ring for seven months since his tougher-than-expected victory over journeyman Steve Claggett on June 29 last year.

Lopez says Matias was the only option Top Rank gave him. It was not “multiple options”, and he states that he “put his foot down” because he is tired of the “take it or leave it” battles that have been offered to him.

“I feel like it’s a time for me to get bigger and better fights. Matias is trying to bounce back from losing to Liam Paro in his home country,” said Teofimo Lopez. Fight Hub TV on why he turned down a fight against Subriel Matias. “I think by doing that, why am I going to be the step stool for that guy?

“He’s not going to win. Of course not. Bob Arum, the CEO of Top Rank, mentioned that fight is not pay-per-view worthy. I agree. Bob Arum, the chairman, he put it. Whoever was involved in this situation, they really wanted to push for PPV.

“I said if that’s the case, I need insurance. “Give me a bigger guarantee, and then we can start talking about making the fight. I’m ready to fight now.’ Things did not work out in terms. They knocked it down. They said I performed in bad faith for the fight, but in reality they only gave us one option,” Lopez said.

In hindsight, Teofimo made the right decision not to fight Matias (21-2, 21 KO) because there was an excellent chance that he would have lost to him. Matias will thrive against Lopez’s fighting style, and he is on another level to George Kambosos Jr, who has proven to be Teo’s kryptonite.

The New Yorker Lopez can’t handle pressure fighters. We saw it against Kambosos, Jamaine Ortiz, and in the later rounds of his 2020 upset win over Vasily Lomachenko in 2020.

“There were no multiple options of fighters, and they didn’t want to do unifications,” Teofimo said of Top Rank. “They didn’t want to pay certain fighters x amount of dollars. I just don’t understand. It feels like it’s a shot at me. I’m going to accept it as an opinion from me as my market.”

It’s understandable why Top Rank wouldn’t pay an arm and a leg to set up a unification fight for Teofimo against one of the other champions because it wouldn’t be PPV. He’s not popular enough, and the other champions at 140 aren’t big names.

The champions at light welterweight

– Jose ‘Rayo’ Valenzuela
– Richardson Hitchins
– Alberto Puello

“You have to think about it as a business perspective, and I’m going into this year,” Teofimo said. “Wouldn’t you rather see it on linear TV open to the public rather than the first year I come back in 2025, I’m doing PPV? Why should I charge you? You are there to watch us. It should be free. ESPN and the network still get them, and so do we. Let’s open it up to everyone.

“I just put my foot down. I used to do ‘take it or leave it’ fights for you guys (Top Rank) and I just can’t do it anymore,” Lopez said.