Undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney says might move up to 140 to take on Teofimo Lopez.
What’s clear is Haney is going to need to move up to 140 real soon to go after guys like Teofimo because he looked badly drained, making weight for his rematch with George Kambosos Jr last October.
If Haney gets past Vasyl Lomachenko next, he will be expected to fight Shakur Stevenson, and it’s doubtful he wins that fight. However, if Haney moves up to 140, he can get a good payday fighting the mentally flawed Teofimo and likely beat him before challenging Regis Prograis.
Haney (29-0, 15 KOs) and his dad, Bill, seem to be more interested in facing former unified 135-lb champion Teofimo (17-1, 13 KOs) than Vasyl Lomachenko.
Bill went looking for Teofimo Sr at a liquor store in Las Vegas that he supposedly frequents last Monday, and it’s clear that he wants Teo for Devin to fight next rather than the 34-year-old Lomachenko.
Teofimo’s career is murky right now, as he faces Sandor Martin (40-2, 13 KOs) on December 10th on ESPN+ at Madison Square Garden in New York. The Spaniard Sandor is the guy that sent former four-division world champion Mikey Garcia into retirement by beating him by a 10-round decision in October 2021.
Ain’t no match yet… might just come to 140 & fuck u up! 😤 https://t.co/8jhW8Bd5tQ
— Devin Haney (@Realdevinhaney) November 29, 2022
Remember u chose kambosos to whip ur ass instead of me! Went a different direction & it almost cost you your life…gotta make smart choices 😭🤡 https://t.co/3dfGW9TEK4
— Devin Haney (@Realdevinhaney) November 29, 2022
It’s not a good sign that Teofimo is taking a second tune-up fight since moving up to 140 last summer. For Teofimo to be fighting Sandor instead of a higher-ranked contender like Arnold Barboza, Jose Ramirez, or Subriel Matias suggests that his promoters at Top Rank have doubts about his viability as light welterweight.
Some would argue that the 29-year-old Sandor is a better version of George Kambosos Jr, and we saw what he did against Teofimo.
If Haney, 24, is going to move up to light welterweight to take Teofimo’s scalp, he needs to do it as soon as possible before he gets exposed again. Teofimo looked something awful in his debut at 140 against little-known second-tier fighter Pedro Campa last August.
That fight showed that Teofimo’s loss to Kambosos was no fluke thing. Teo is that bad. Top Rank could be making a mistake by using Sandor Martin as the replacement for the ill Jose Pedraza because this guy is a better fighter, and he’s got the wrong style for Teo.