Eddie Hearn Putting in his Bid for Teofimo Lopez Versus Montana Love
Cleveland native Montana “Too Pretty” Love (17-0-1, 9 KO’s) has made it a well-known fact that he is looking for a big fight. He had somewhat of a breakout stoppage victory over Ivan Baranchyk on August 29. Love would go on to follow that impressive feat with an exciting knockout win over Carlos Diaz on December 4.
Those two wins, plus his short-term contact with Matchroom Boxing, has Love bringing in the New Year with a very bright smile. Now, the ambitious pugilist wants to add another meaningful name to his ledger. If given his way, Love’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, believes that penning a dustup with former unified lightweight champion Teofimo “Take Over” Lopez (16-1, 12 KO’s) is the perfect solution.
A FALL FROM GRACE
Whereas Love is ending his 2021 at an all-time professional high, Lopez is at the lowest point of his prizefighting career. The year would see the Take Over compete in only one single contest. Yet, that solo bout, versus George Kambosos, was outrageously costly as he lost his WBA super, WBO and IBF titles in a stunning upset defeat. Following the detrimental match, Lopez vowed to finally make good on his threat to move up to super lightweight.
Sadly, Team Lopez has continued to speak with the press as if nothing of note has transpired. This is most readily apparent when they talk about how they’d like to duel with undisputed super lightweight champion Josh Taylor. This is quizzical considering Taylor openly and repeatedly scoffed at the notion of a showdown with Lopez even before his loss. Now that he has no belts and is fresh off a loss, it’d take a minor miracle for the Take Over to land that bout now.
TIME FOR A SWITCH?
The bout with Love, ranked #10 (IBF), does make a good amount of sense for Lopez. Obviously, a fight with Love would not garner the same respect as the Lomachenko fight or the hype of Kambosos. With that being said, Too Pretty’s name is buzzing at the moment, and he is in his prime and skilled. It certainly would not be a mark against the former world champion to face him in the ring. Provided that Lopez toppled him in decisive fashion, it would make for a great introduction into the new weight class.
Also, the bout would allow Lopez the chance to work with Eddie Hearn who helms Matchroom Boxing. While it is true that the Take Over is still contracted to Top Rank, it’s also true that he significantly alienated himself with the company. He accomplished this when he strategically colluded with Team Kambosos to push their bout to a purse bid. This was done in order to obtain a high purse. In the wake of the maneuver, Bob Arum openly threatened Lopez by saying he would later prevent a meaningful bout. Said to say, it might not be a bad idea to start laying the groundwork for a potential switch in promotional companies.
In the end though, it is a tall mountain and wide ocean between what a promoter loosely declares and what actually happens. So let’s wait and see how Team Lopez rebounds and who they fight when they do return to the ring. Yet, they could do a whole lot worse than Montana Love, so let’s see how it all shakes out!
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By: Bakari Simpson
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