Lopez Acknowledges Bob Arum Didn’t Like Claggett Fight
From the moment that WBO junior welterweight champion Teofimo “The Takeover” Lopez (21-1, 13 KO’s) announced his fight with Steve Claggett, it was met with resistance and bewilderment. The uncalled for bout instantly put Lopez in a lose-lose situation. Even had he scored a tremendous knockout, next to no one would be impressed given the obscurity of his opposition. Now, after getting lumped up over twelve rounds of humdrum action, Lopez admits not even his Top Rank promoter, Bob Arum, was pleased.
“I don’t care how I look; my hand is going to get raised at the end of it all. I don’t care as long as I get back to my kid safe and sound. This is the fight game, this is what we signed for! But I needed that . . . for everybody else, whether it’s ‘47, ‘40, Bob said I did well [but] he don’t look too happy – fuck it! I don’t care! I’m your only last star available and that’s it. So he’s got to deal with it, you know what I mean?!”
A CRITICAL FORK IN THE ROAD
At the moment, the stock of Lopez appears to be plummeting at a rapid pace. There is no question that he is a talented fighter and has claimed some meaningful wins. These include victories over three-division champion Vasily Lomachenko and former 140-pound undisputed champion Josh Taylor. At the same time, The Takeover has received extremely controversial decision wins over Sandor Martin and Jamaine Ortiz.
In fact, he was coming directly off the Ortiz fight which many felt he lost, when he faced Claggett. Given he has turned in back-to-back lackluster performances, now may not be the best time to be thumbing his nose at his promoter. Especially when Lopez himself can’t speak highly of his own showing.
“I love the way it is. Sometimes God makes me look subpar, if that has to be that case, so that these other chumps could come in and jump in the gun.”
It will certainly be interesting to see who Lopez opts to fight next. As it stands now, the talk in many boxing social media circles is that he has peaked as a fighter and his power has not traveled with him to the junior welterweight landscape. So, will he be able to rally and prove his worth against a recognized and respected opponent? Or, will his perceived value and sales power continue to tumble?
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