Teofimo Lopez Says Ball is in Devin Haney’s Court
In recent days, a war of words has erupted between IBF world lightweight champion Teofimo “El Brooklyn” Lopez (15-0, 12 KO’s) and WBC world lightweight champion Devin “The Dream” Haney (24-0, 15 KO’s). In fact, as the vitriolic exchanges continued, even Haney’s co-promoter Eddie Hearn and Top Rank vice president Carl Moretti chimed in on the action.
The situation all sprang from Lopez’s upcoming about with unified lightweight champion Vasiliy “Hi-Tech” Lomachenko (14-1, 10 KO’s) being postponed. Due the travel ban that has been put into place owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lomachenko, who is currently in the Ukraine, will not be available to face Lopez.
“Due to the travel ban, obviously everyone knows there is a pandemic going on and everything. No one can go out of the country, the United States and no one can come into the country. So that being said, since Lomachenko is from the Ukraine, and he is out there in the Ukraine, we cannot make the fight happen at the time. Being because of COVID-19 , its tough, that’s why I said, ‘hey, let me get these other fights!’”
BRING ON THE DREAM
Left without an opponent, El Brooklyn claims that he reached out to both Haney and Ryan “KingRy” Garcia’s (20-0, 17 KO’s) team to pen a prizefight. However, Teofimo Lopez stated that neither one returned contact. This notion was near immediately countered by Haney and Hearn, with each man saying they had no clue what Lopez was talking about
Since being labeled a liar, Lopez took the occasion to stage an interview with EsNews, in which he revealed that there had been further communications between himself and Eddie Hearn.
“He [Eddie Hearn] wrote to me on my InstaGram and he DM’ed me on my InstaGram and he followed me…he was like, ‘well I am letting you know that I have not heard no contact about you wanting to fight him.’ I was like, ‘well you’re hearing it from me personally, so here, contact my manager and let’s make this fight happen.’ So I am just waiting on it, I pressed on it, I said,’ yo, I am not bullshitting and I have the messages to prove it.”
THE FURIOUS FIVE
So, for the moment at least, we are right back playing the waiting game to see how this potential prizefight pans out. Moving on to other hypothetical questions, Lopez was asking who his next several opponents would be in order if he could select them with no restrictions or hindrances.
“Lomachenko, because everyone wants that fight, and I have been trying to push on it. After that, would be let’s say Devin Haney. And after Devin Haney we can build off of, I can go [Gervonta] Tank [Davis], I don’t see why not and then I can do Ryan [Garcia]. Or we can do Ryan and then Tank. And then who else? Who is my fifth? I’ll do like Luke Campbell or [Jorge] Linares, any of those guys.”
While this wish list is juicy, ideally we can get a bout with Haney and Lopez ironed out. They are both very talented fighters, both are champions and they have a wonderfully antagonistic backstory. And, most importantly, each of them are here, in the states, ready to lock horns. Sadly, just like Lopez, for the moment, all we can do is wait and harbor positive thoughts.
By: Bakari Simpson
