Bob Arum Open To Matching Devin Haney with Teofimo Lopez
As he’s made it a public matter, it is now clear that WBC junior welterweight champion Devin “The Dream” Haney (31-1, 15 KO’s) is rather miffed at Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing. The source of his anger stems from Hearn’s failure to submit a pursue bid for his would-be fight with Sandor Martin. Instead, Bob Arum’s Top Rank, the only promotional company to put up money, won the pursue bid. Even better, Arum has insinuated that if not Martin, he’d be willing to stage a duel between Haney and WBO 140-pound champion Teofimo “The Takeover” Lopez (20-1, 13 KO’s).
The well-seasoned promoter shared his sentiments in a brief Q&A with Fight Hype:
“Everything is possible! If Devin decides to give up his title, which he’d have to do and not fight Martin, I’m not going to be angry at him! And if we can arrange a Teofimo and Haney fight, which is an interesting fight, then we’ll try to do that.”
SUNK IN THE WATER?
In many regards, it was no surprise that Hearn did not place a bid on the Haney versus Martin fight. While he has admitted that he thinks it’s a solid fight for The Dream coming off his loss to Ryan Garcia, Hearn has also stated that he had no interest in setting that match up. On top of this, while it is true that Haney, through his Devin Haney Promotions, has worked regularly with Hearn, ultimately The Dream is an independent fighter.
Therefore, if he was truly concerned with securing the purse bid, then perhaps he should have placed his own bid. As a result, there is now a great deal of uncertainty about how Haney and Hearn will deal with one another going forward. Yet, this all could be much ado about nothing if Haney does in fact cooperate with Top Rank and signs a contract to battle Lopez.
BATTLE OF THE BRUISED?!
Between the two, there is zero question that boxing enthusiasts would rather watch Haney versus Lopez. To begin, Lopez is a significantly more popular and recognizable fighter than Sandor Martin. Going a step further, he and Haney have enjoyed a years-long rivalry that began when both were housed in the lightweight division.
Each have become 140-pound champions while sustaining major hits in public perception. In terms of Lopez, there are huge swaths of the fanbase who believe he was gifted decisions versus Jamaine Ortiz and the aforementioned Sandor Martin. At the same time, Haney was literally defeated in his last duel versus Ryan Garcia.
Yet, due to Garcia’s unprofessional decision not to make weight, The Dream was able to retain his title. It should be noted that Garcia was flagged for PED’s in that duel with Haney. So, there is a huge possibility that the win will be overturned when the New York State Athletic Commission makes their impending ruling.
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