Top Rank promoter Bob Arum had strong words for his fighter as he is experiencing frustration getting the champion to sign a contract.
The promotion company has signed fighters such as Vaisily Lomachenko, Naoya Inoue, and Artur Beterbiev, however, one fighter seems discontent with contractual negotiations.
Speaking on the situation, Arum did not hold back when giving his thoughts on the fighter.
The champion has been campaigning for fights online, however, it appears as if negotiations have been difficult.
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Bob Arum gives brutal take on one of his champions
While speaking to Ring Magazine, Arum explained the predicament he is currently in with Teofimo Lopez.
The super lightweight champion has been an active force on X, especially since Lopez traded blows with Devin Haney online. However, what may have started as tension between the two fighters quickly escalated into topics of contract negotiations and internal issues.
Arum said, “We offered him a tremendous amount above his minimum,” when talking about getting a fight booked for Lopez.
“His biggest purse ever, and the opportunity to earn even more if somehow the pay-per-view took off. And he turned that down. So, the question is what won’t he turn down? I mean, where is his head at? We really should, instead of just continuing to propose fighters for him to fight, he can let us know who he wants to fight.”
Arum also revealed that Lopez was given an offer to fight Brian Norman, who is the interim WBO welterweight champion. However, Lopez declined the opportunity to challenge for the belt.
As well as being critical of Lopez’s decision-making, Arum also showed some displeasure with Lopez’s recent performances.
“It’s not like he’s coming off great performances. He looked terrible with [Jamaine] Ortiz and people thought he lost that fight, a lotta people thought that, although I thought he won it…And then he fought [Steve] Claggett, who’s not ‘Superman,’ and he wasn’t able to destroy Claggett. So again, I don’t know what effort he is willing to put in anymore, and I don’t know where his head is at.”
Devin Haney’s condition for fighting Teofimo Lopez
Although facing ‘The Dream’ may be unlikely for Lopez’s next fight, complications in making the Haney vs Ryan Garcia rematch could open the door for the champion.
However, Haney’s team has named their condition that any opponent must abide by should they want a fight with the former champion, naming Lopez and Garcia specifically.
Haney has said that any opponent must be willing to sign up for year-round random drug testing. Haney’s team reiterated this to Boxing News by saying, “It lets Teofimo and Ryan know that, anyone who wants to fight Devin Haney, sign up to [VADA’s year-round testing program] if you’re really serious.”
As it stands, there is no clear sign of who Lopez may face in his next bout and Lopez has not implied he has signed up for the drug testing program.