Promoter Bob Arum says Teofimo Lopez still hasn’t adjusted to fighting in the light welterweight division after watching his fight last Saturday night against Sandor Martin at Madison Square Garden in New York.
(Photo credit: Sumio Yamada)
Arum says the five pounds of extra weight from the 135 to the 140 lb division is “a lot of weight,” and that’s why it’s going to take more time for the former unified lightweight champion Teofimo (18-1, 13 KOs) to adjust to the light welterweight division.
It’s difficult to agree with Arum about the weight being the cause for Teofimo’s problems against Sandor Martin because Teo struggled in his last fight at 135 against George Kambosos Jr and wound up losing.
Teofimo would have likely lost to Vasyl Lomachenko at lightweight if Loma had started quicker in the first half of the fight and if he wasn’t fighting with an injury.
It’s got to be tough for Arum to admit it, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that Teofimo’s career is heading downward, and he’s not going to be the superstar he initially thought he would be.
Unless Arum chooses to protect Teofimo by steering him away from quality fighters at 140, his career will be over by the end of 2023. If Teofimo can’t even beat Sandor Martin or Kambosos, he’s not going to hang with the top 140-pounders.
“I think you’d have to favor Prograis, but I think Teofimo could beat him,” said Top Rank promoter Bob Arum to the media last Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in New York, reacting to Teofimo Lopez’s poor performance in his second fight at 140.
Arum isn’t expected to match Teofimo against Prograis in his next fight, though, because he mentioned wanting to put him in with WBO champion Josh Taylor, Jose Ramirez, or Arnold Barboza Jr next.
“No,” Arum said when asked if Teofimo has adjusted to the 140-lb weight class. “I think it’s an adjustment. Five pounds sounds like nothing, but it’s a lot of weight.”
While Arum feels that Teofimo pitched a shutout against Sandor, the boxing world saw a much different fight. They collectively felt that Sandor had done more than enough to deserve the victory against the home fighter Teofimo.
Martin knocked Teofimo down twice in the fight with right hooks but was only given credit for one knockdown after the referee blew the call in the seventh by failing to credit Sandor.
On replay, it was a clear knockdown with Teofimo getting dropped by a counter right hook from Martin.