Lomachenko vs Teofimo Lopez possible September 19

If he's asking for the same money as Loma, then he's undoubtedly pricing himself out (I'm very skeptical that he is). 1.2 for a guy of Lopez's standing against someone who some claim to be p4p #1 and a half decent draw would definitely be a low amount if we weren't in the middle of covid, but given the fact that there will be no gate or site fee, it might not be unreasonable (hard to know without more information and I'm definitely not just taking Arum's word for it).

On the other hand, Lopez's manager might have a point about ESPN not coughing nearly enough. This is clearly the most interesting fight for Loma so far on ESPN and Loma draws decent ratings for them. Lopez is only 23, so him taking another fight and perhaps waiting until crowds are allowed to return or a PPV might be the smart decision for his camp. Time is on his side, after all.
I think it's a reasonable purse offering for several reasons and many others seem to think so (if you look at his social media) especially given the times. Even then, it's not like it's all financial reward here because it's a huge opportunity for his legacy. This would be a career high payday for him and 2.5x as much as he's ever made. Given how bad the economic conditions currently are due to the pandemic and the fact that Lopez isn't even an established name yet, he's a single-belt titleholder at present, I think enough reward is clearly there both financially and legacy-wise for him to sign. His last purse was only $500k to fight Commey as the B-side without a title.

Additionally there's a tremendous non-financial reward here that would be very beneficial to his legacy if he could manage to beat Lomachenko. Even if he loses a decision but makes a good account of himself his stock will rise. If he loses then he was already expected to lose. He's young & talented enough to rebound provided that he doesn't quit in there (assuming he handles his first loss well in general). Since this is a unification fight there would be a rematch clause in place, and it's likely a two-way clause (since both are titleholders), so he'd get another crack at Lomachenko if he lost. Maybe even immediately. If he wins then he'd receive full credit for it as Lomachenko is still within his physical prime years at 32. Lopez has been the one calling for this all along for the last couple years, hyping it to the max, and telling anybody that would listen that he'll spark Lomachenko. There's genuine bad blood and history behind this fight so he has all the personal motivation in the world to take it just on those grounds.

He also isn't being asked to fight at a catchweight, or being hit with a sneaky rehydration clause to cap his weight and weaken him on fight night, or any other handicapping stipulations. The Vegas location would be in his favor as he's the native home fighter of the two. If he beat Lomachenko then he would immediately enter the P4P rankings across the board, he would be a three-belt unified titleholder, he'd be lineal champion (at this time this is a clear #1 vs #2 match-up for the vacant title), and he would become a legit world boxing star to pave the way toward real PPV level exposure and the big paydays that come with it. His value overnight would shoot through the roof.

There won't be a live gate, site fee, or any CCTV revenue streams. It could be a regular ESPN fight or an ESPN PPV but that could go either way. Top Rank never actually committed in that regard beforehand but they should've. What are you having to take Arum's word on? The insider that initially reported on these negotiations (Coppinger) stated that Lopez was "far off" from what Top Rank offered. He also stated that Lomachenko, despite being the clear A-side in this, had already made a concession in taking a pay cut to try and make this fight happen. He's already signed. The only one that's actually taking a pay cut here is Lomachenko, it's not Lopez. For Lopez it's still the most money he's ever made to date. When you look at the full picture this all sounds like a win-win for Lopez to me.
 
It sounds like some progress has been made on Teo's front. I'm going to speculate a bit here and logically assume that Teo has come down in his asking price. The bad news? We, as doubters, are dumbasses. Facts. Let's hope he means fight Lomachenko next though rather than later. He's speaking on the current ongoing negotiations which suggests that he likely means next. I think the social media backlash of late that he's endured, in part stemming from all his recent bark, has caused him to consider his options from a more realistic perspective.
 
I think it's a reasonable purse offering for several reasons and many others seem to think so (if you look at his social media) especially given the times. Even then, it's not like it's all financial reward here because it's a huge opportunity for his legacy. This would be a career high payday for him and 2.5x as much as he's ever made. Given how bad the economic conditions currently are due to the pandemic and the fact that Lopez isn't even an established name yet, he's a single-belt titleholder at present, I think enough reward is clearly there both financially and legacy-wise for him to sign. His last purse was only $500k to fight Commey as the B-side without a title.

Additionally there's a tremendous non-financial reward here that would be very beneficial to his legacy if he could manage to beat Lomachenko. Even if he loses a decision but makes a good account of himself his stock will rise. If he loses then he was already expected to lose. He's young & talented enough to rebound provided that he doesn't quit in there (assuming he handles his first loss well in general). Since this is a unification fight there would be a rematch clause in place, and it's likely a two-way clause (since both are titleholders), so he'd get another crack at Lomachenko if he lost. Maybe even immediately. If he wins then he'd receive full credit for it as Lomachenko is still within his physical prime years at 32. Lopez has been the one calling for this all along for the last couple years, hyping it to the max, and telling anybody that would listen that he'll spark Lomachenko. There's genuine bad blood and history behind this fight so he has all the personal motivation in the world to take it just on those grounds.

He also isn't being asked to fight at a catchweight, or being hit with a sneaky rehydration clause to cap his weight and weaken him on fight night, or any other handicapping stipulations. The Vegas location would be in his favor as he's the native home fighter of the two. If he beat Lomachenko then he would immediately enter the P4P rankings across the board, he would be a three-belt unified titleholder, he'd be lineal champion (at this time this is a clear #1 vs #2 match-up for the vacant title), and he would become a legit world boxing star to pave the way toward real PPV level exposure and the big paydays that come with it. His value overnight would shoot through the roof.

There won't be a live gate, site fee, or any CCTV revenue streams. It could be a regular ESPN fight or an ESPN PPV but that could go either way. Top Rank never actually committed in that regard beforehand but they should've. What are you having to take Arum's word on? The insider that initially reported on these negotiations (Coppinger) stated that Lopez was "far off" from what Top Rank offered. He also stated that Lomachenko, despite being the clear A-side in this, had already made a concession in taking a pay cut to try and make this fight happen. He's already signed. The only one that's actually taking a pay cut here is Lomachenko, it's not Lopez. For Lopez it's still the most money he's ever made to date. When you look at the full picture this all sounds like a win-win for Lopez to me.

I said it's likely not an unreasonable offer given the fact that it's in the middle of covid. I also said that Lopez's manager might have a point when he's talking about getting more out of ESPN considering this would be the most anticipated fight of Loma's ESPN run. If he can't get more money out of it, his attitude might be that waiting until early 2021 (when their might be a vaccine and the revenue generated by fight would be quite a bit higher) isn't the worst thing in the world given the fact that he's 23 and has barely graduated from being a prospect. Or he's just holding out as a negotiation tactic, or he never really wanted the fight to begin with - I don't know. It's tough to know without being privy to all the details. As I said before, Lomachenko is at a point in his career where time is much more precious than it is for Lopez and Lopez's side might be trying to exploit that in negotiation (especially given the fact that he is far and away the most logical opponent for Lomachenko at 135 who is in-house).
 
I said it's likely not an unreasonable offer given the fact that it's in the middle of covid. I also said that Lopez's manager might have a point when he's talking about getting more out of ESPN considering this would be the most anticipated fight of Loma's ESPN run. If he can't get more money out of it, his attitude might be that waiting until early 2021 (when their might be a vaccine and the revenue generated by fight would be quite a bit higher) isn't the worst thing in the world given the fact that he's 23 and has barely graduated from being a prospect. Or he's just holding out as a negotiation tactic, or he never really wanted the fight to begin with - I don't know. It's tough to know without being privy to all the details. As I said before, Lomachenko is at a point in his career where time is much more precious than it is for Lopez and Lopez's side might be trying to exploit that in negotiation (especially given the fact that he is far and away the most logical opponent for Lomachenko at 135 who is in-house).
ESPN could step in and improve Lopez's purse but I don't think they will. I believe it likely would've already happened by now. Lopez did say yesterday that the fight will happen so I guess we'll see. Maybe he came down or they've worked something else out on the side with Top Rank. They could wait until early next year but Lopez is on borrowed time as far as his presence in the division. Trying to wait Lomachenko out, if that's possibly the plan, isn't really an option. He's got a nutritionist right now helping him make weight but he isn't going to be able to continue making weight for much longer. He was recently as high as 160 pounds walking around and in good shape (based on actual recent video of him weighing about that at 156 pounds). He's clearly been filling out more and only just turned 23 days ago. He's said he might stick around a bit longer for the right fight but that's assuming he can still make the weight from fight-to-fight without it becoming too uncomfortable or affecting his performances.

Waiting until early next year for him could mean missing out on this opportunity to unify with a P4Per and the #1 guy in the division. Lomachenko won't be sticking around much longer either. He's been saying for a long time that he'll be moving back down to 130 soon so waiting for this fight in order to command more money assuming better economic conditions is risky and uncertain. The solution might be to take the fight now and if he loses he could likely get an immediate rematch around that time (Q1 of 2021). The rematch could then be built-up quickly, particularly if the first fight is highly competitive or the result is widely regarded as controversial.
 
Loma could effortlessly make 130 in his next fight no problem. He's said as much and plans to move back down there soon anyway. That's his natural weight class nowadays. With a nutritionist he could even probably go back down to 126 but that's always a risk given he's getting up there in age. Donaire moved down fine though recently and so did Rigo and both are even older than he is. On fight night Loma only weighs in the low 140's and that's as a 135'er after putting on a little bit more muscle lately to fill out more for the division. Campbell absolutely looked like his big brother in there the last time out. One of the main angles Loma's opponents even use to convince fans that they'll win is because of the size he's giving up. Linares went with it, Pedraza, and Campbell's team did as well. Even Lopez recently said he's just too small and wouldn't be able to handle his power. Obviously at 130 he won't be giving up this kind of size to opponents.
Loma-Campbell.jpg

Yeah Campbell looked like a giant in there. Whatever decision Loma makes he needs to get a move on. There are fights for him at 135 but Mikey Garcia doesn't look like he is coming back, Lopez has priced himself out of the market. Ryan Garcia is still too green, I don't see Oscar letting him in with Loma at this stage. Mayweather isn't going to let Davis near Loma. Then there is Haney, who is the only one that it actually looked like Loma was the one ducking albeit indirectly. I think it'd be a good fight but it really looked like the WBC were protecting Loma by making him their Franchise Champion.

So maybe a move to 130 would be his best option. He doesn't have many years left in the game, so I hope whatever he does decide prooves to be the right decision.
 
Man, he's getting older and the division is just gonna wait him out until he's slow. The promoters should be ashamed.

Props to Campbell and Lopez and their promoters for taking fights with him though.
 
Yeah Campbell looked like a giant in there. Whatever decision Loma makes he needs to get a move on. There are fights for him at 135 but Mikey Garcia doesn't look like he is coming back, Lopez has priced himself out of the market. Ryan Garcia is still too green, I don't see Oscar letting him in with Loma at this stage. Mayweather isn't going to let Davis near Loma. Then there is Haney, who is the only one that it actually looked like Loma was the one ducking albeit indirectly. I think it'd be a good fight but it really looked like the WBC were protecting Loma by making him their Franchise Champion.

So maybe a move to 130 would be his best option. He doesn't have many years left in the game, so I hope whatever he does decide prooves to be the right decision.
The situation with Haney isn't something we haven't seen before. His talent is obvious and he has youth on his side. The primary reason a team would advise their fighter to stay away in the meantime is because he isn't proven at all yet. In fact, at the elite level we know nothing about him. It's fear of the unknown. Not to mention even with a win over the guy it's not going to do much for their fighter's stock until there's sufficient reward in place. The potential to be high risk-low reward applies to Haney, at least in part (low reward), as a win over him at this point in time just means your fighter beat one of several top prospects in the division (as he never earned the WBC title he's wearing).

In Lomachenko's case Top Rank reportedly petitioned the WBC to make him Franchise Champion, like Canelo is, so it wasn't even him that asked for the distinction. From a business perspective Top Rank had been eyeing Lomachenko vs Lopez prior to Haney even coming along because it's a high profile fight and most importantly for them it's in-house. Lomachenko already said he'd fight Haney next anyway. He has to in order to become undisputed should this Lopez fight go through and he wins. The rest of the division views Haney in the same light until he actually steps up and beats a top contender or a former titleholder who's still fairly relevant. He's called out the entire division, he did it just yesterday, but until he actually makes a name for himself at the elite level then you can't help but not pay attention to most of it.

It's also worth pointing out that until Lopez actually did something at the elite level and beat Commey for his IBF title, Lomachenko wasn't interested in fighting him either. As soon as that happened Lopez immediately became an "interesting" (his word) opponent and Lomachenko signed on the dotted line to fight him. I expect it will be similar with Haney at least as it pertains to Lomachenko.
 
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I just want him to fight anyone, miss seeing him in action.
 

<PlusJuan><{goalbruh}>

PS. Top Rank has Verdejo on standby as a replacement in case Lomachenko-Lopez doesn't get done. It would be a rematch of sorts as Lomachenko beat him at the 2012 Olympics. Let's hope Lopez signs on instead.
 
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Lopez might loss too much if Loma will defeat him.
U.S boxing fanbase is unforgiving and he will suffer more than Campbell, cos he at least did all the best plus he was not noname even before turned into a pros, like Loma too wasn't noname before pros........
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Maybe yeah, better is to wait 1+ year and improve seriously, because doesn't looks that a) he is able to won Loma 2 times in row b) that Loma will be faster after 1+ year. c) Lopez should improve.
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Garcia looks easily beatable for Lopez than even Campbell if question is about 2 wins in row vs him. Not to talk about Loma.
+ both these Garcia and Lopez might be considerably better after 1+ year if they will seriously improve.
Garcia is too simple, maybe better to feed him Rollies than these Campbell or Lopez?
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Loma has aboslutely nothing to prove and might had decent life even without single fight in pros.......
Yeah, time is working against him with each month ofc. Best shape and speed he had I think in 2012 - 2013 th, I ofc subjective....... these Lopez etc are young + after year + will not be slower, only might improve ...........
 
Lopez might loss too much if Loma will defeat him.
U.S boxing fanbase is unforgiving and he will suffer more than Campbell, cos he at least did all the best plus he was not noname even before turned into a pros, like Loma too wasn't noname before pros........
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Maybe yeah, better is to wait 1+ year and improve seriously, because doesn't looks that a) he is able to won Loma 2 times in row b) that Loma will be faster after 1+ year. c) Lopez should improve.
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Garcia looks easily beatable for Lopez than even Campbell if question is about 2 wins in row vs him. Not to talk about Loma.
+ both these Garcia and Lopez might be considerably better after 1+ year if they will seriously improve.
Garcia is too simple, maybe better to feed him Rollies than these Campbell or Lopez?
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Loma has aboslutely nothing to prove and might had decent life even without single fight in pros.......
Yeah, time is working against him with each month ofc. Best shape and speed he had I think in 2012 - 2013 th, I ofc subjective....... these Lopez etc are young + after year + will not be slower, only might improve ...........
<Huh2>
Exactly
 
The situation with Haney isn't something we haven't seen before. His talent is obvious and he has youth on his side. The primary reason a team would advise their fighter to stay away in the meantime is because he isn't proven at all yet. In fact, at the elite level we know nothing about him. It's fear of the unknown. Not to mention even with a win over the guy it's not going to do much for their fighter's stock until there's sufficient reward in place. The potential to be high risk-low reward applies to Haney, at least in part (low reward), as a win over him at this point in time just means your fighter beat one of several top prospects in the division (as he never earned the WBC title he's wearing).

In Lomachenko's case Top Rank reportedly petitioned the WBC to make him Franchise Champion, like Canelo is, so it wasn't even him that asked for the distinction. From a business perspective Top Rank had been eyeing Lomachenko vs Lopez prior to Haney even coming along because it's a high profile fight and most importantly for them it's in-house. Lomachenko already said he'd fight Haney next anyway. He has to in order to become undisputed should this Lopez fight go through and he wins. The rest of the division views Haney in the same light until he actually steps up and beats a top contender or a former titleholder who's still fairly relevant. He's called out the entire division, he did it just yesterday, but until he actually makes a name for himself at the elite level then you can't help but not pay attention to most of it.

It's also worth pointing out that until Lopez actually did something at the elite level and beat Commey for his IBF title, Lomachenko wasn't interested in fighting him either. As soon as that happened Lopez immediately became an "interesting" (his word) opponent and Lomachenko signed on the dotted line to fight him. I expect it will be similar with Haney at least as it pertains to Lomachenko.

Good to hear that Loma wants to fight Haney. Yeah you're right that Loma wasn't interested in Lopez until he got the IBF title off Commey. I wonder what TR got out of asking the WBC to make Loma the franchise champion. I suppose it makes a more flexible arrangement.
 
Good to hear that Loma wants to fight Haney. Yeah you're right that Loma wasn't interested in Lopez until he got the IBF title off Commey. I wonder what TR got out of asking the WBC to make Loma the franchise champion. I suppose it makes a more flexible arrangement.
Yeah. Lomachenko initially told Lopez to "Go win a belt" first. As soon as he did he signed to fight him next. Top Rank obviously didn't want Haney to interfere at all with Lomachenko-Lopez because he's with Hearn. They wanted a fight of that magnitude to be in-house.

The reason they asked the WBC for Franchise Champion I believe is so that in the meantime Lomachenko could fight Lopez, they could still bill it as "Undisputed" (fooling fans with the WBC Franchise Champion designation), and make all the money while keeping Haney and Hearn completely out of the picture. They'd then have the option of the winner fighting Haney where Haney would be the even less significant B-side and not just Haney but everyone else in the division. And since they'd no longer be on the WBC's time (with a mandatory challenger), and by extension Hearn's/Haney's time, they'd control the timing aspect of a future Lomachenko-Lopez winner vs Haney clash too. They'd have complete leverage.
 
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Tbh Loma has no reason to not fight Haney
Didn't you hear? Everybody's ducking him. Right now we've got 8 guys that don't want that smoke including Broner who isn't even in the division.

Meanwhile, in reality, the WBC reinstated him as champion and then gave him a voluntary defense. He's choosing an old shot fighter that isn't even a natural Lightweight coming off a one-sided stoppage loss to Tank (one of the guys that's supposedly ducking him). This fight is in the works at the moment so expect it in late September or early October according to his promoter, Hearn.
Devin Haney to return in the fall, Yuriorkis Gamboa a possible opponent
 
Here's news from yesterday with Bob sharing some actual details about Lopez's demands to give us an idea what he is/was asking for at the table. It's based on completely unrealistic revenue streams. The latest news however is good. According to Mike Coppinger, an insider with The Athletic, progress is being made and they're growing more optimistic that the fight will get done.

“The contract we offered them is already more than double his highest purse and they started talking all this crazy stuff,” Arum said to Yahoo Sports. “They were talking numbers based on a $3 million live gate and closed circuit. It’s crazy! They’re saying, why should they be affected by the coronavirus?

“Loma has a contract and he’s already given us relief. He’s fighting for less than his contract says because he gets it. I’m not in the business to lose money. If they turn down a record contract for him, nothing I can do. On to the next.”
Arum: Loma Has Given Us Relief, If Lopez Turns Down Deal - On To The Next
 
Here's news from yesterday with Bob sharing some actual details about Lopez's demands to give us an idea what he is/was asking for at the table. It's based on completely unrealistic revenue streams. The latest news however is good. According to Mike Coppinger, an insider with The Athletic, progress is being made and they're growing more optimistic that the fight will get done.

“The contract we offered them is already more than double his highest purse and they started talking all this crazy stuff,” Arum said to Yahoo Sports. “They were talking numbers based on a $3 million live gate and closed circuit. It’s crazy! They’re saying, why should they be affected by the coronavirus?

“Loma has a contract and he’s already given us relief. He’s fighting for less than his contract says because he gets it. I’m not in the business to lose money. If they turn down a record contract for him, nothing I can do. On to the next.”
Arum: Loma Has Given Us Relief, If Lopez Turns Down Deal - On To The Next
Lopez is getting cold feet about getting in there with Loma. That's why he wants more money, because he expects to lose. And asking why they should be affected by the coronavirus is pretty dumb. Everyone and everything is affected by the virus, you can't change reality and Loma obviously understands that. I like the good news though, hopefully we'll get to see this fight.
 
Lopez is getting cold feet about getting in there with Loma. That's why he wants more money, because he expects to lose. And asking why they should be affected by the coronavirus is pretty dumb. Everyone and everything is affected by the virus, you can't change reality and Loma obviously understands that. I like the good news though, hopefully we'll get to see this fight.

I have a guy at work pulling this "why is this happening to meee" bullshit and it's get really old.
 
I have a guy at work pulling this "why is this happening to meee" bullshit and it's get really old.
Yeah pity party princesses are annoying as hell. I've had to shelve all sorts of plans this year because of the virus, including starting a family, starting my own business, selling my house and going on a long haul holiday. Sometimes shit just happens and you just have to get on with life.
 
Yeah pity party princesses are annoying as hell. I've had to shelve all sorts of plans this year because of the virus, including starting a family, starting my own business, selling my house and going on a long haul holiday. Sometimes shit just happens and you just have to get on with life.

Same. I couldn't go to my grandmothers funeral, my parents were suppose to visit when this all hit and had to cancel. With my dad in his late 60s, emphysema and a body that's been falling apart for 20 years, I might have missed my last chance to spend good quality time with him. It sucks but thats life. And its hardly as bad as so many others have it. I still have a job and my health. 2 for 2 as far as I see it.
 
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