Teofimo Lopez confirmed his retirement from boxing on Monday, saying he’s not interested in fighting Devin Haney or trying to avenge his loss to George Kambosos Jr.
The 25-yer-old Lopez (19-1, 13 KOs), who captured the WBO light welterweight championship last Saturday night by beating champion Josh Taylor, says he’s got things he wants to work on outside of the sport and can’t do that if he’s always in the gym training.
In another interview, Teofimo said that the “only” way he returns to the ring is if his promoters give him a “9-figure’ contract, which isn’t going to happen because he’s not unbeatable.
Top Rank isn’t going to want to pay Teofimo $100 million+ just watch him get beaten when they match him against elite-level opposition at 140, and it won’t work if they’re forced to match Teo against weak opposition or faded guys like Josh Taylor just to keep him on top.
Some boxing fans believe Teofimo is retiring because he doesn’t believe he has the talent to beat killers at 140, like Haney, Regis Prograis, Jose Ramirez, Subriel Matias, and Gary Antuanne Russell.
Teofimo complained that he only made $1 million for his fight against Taylor last weekend. However, ESPN’s Mike Coppinger says Teo’s purse for the fight was $2.3 million, which isn’t bad for a fighter that was arguably beaten by Sandor Martin last December.
Teofimo reportedly has a net worth of an estimated $5 million, which is enough for him to retiree on, provided that he doesn’t lose it all in divorce.
Coppinger states that people close to Teofimo say that he will be returning to the ring. That makes sense because he’s only 25, and he’ll be offered a lot of money for fights against Haney and Ryan Garcia at some point.
Max Kellerman: “For the second time in his career, Teofimo Lopez did exactly what he’d done the first time around. Score a spectacular win over a dominant champion and a southpaw at that.
“Teofimo dominated the undefeated former undisputed junior welterweight champion of the world Josh Taylor on Saturday night in New York City. I welcome in the man himself the [WBO] junior welterweight champion of the world.
“Folks, a lot of belts you hear about. He won this belt in this division. He is the legit lightweight and now Junior welterweight champion of the world. Not that many fighters in history have done that. Congratulations, champ. You have an announcement to make.”
Teofimo Lopez: “I’m going to be announcing my retirement from the sport of boxing. Blood, sweat, and tears I’ve done for the sport at a young age, at 25 years young. And I believe the first male to become the two-time undisputed champion in the four belt era.”
Kellerman: “Teofimo, no one is going to believe you. Even if they believe that you believe it, they’re going to say, ‘Hold on a second.
The one man who beat him [George Kambosos Jr], Teofimo, had a life-threatening condition and defended his title against George Kambosos.
“He could have died because he couldn’t breathe at a certain point, and got off the deck to score a late rounds knockdown but lost the decision. That’s how he lost his lightweight title. He’s still out there, you haven’t fought him, a title defense against Kambosos.
“Devin Haney, who then beat Kambosos bosses for your old title, wants to move up to 140. He’s undefeated. You’re not going to fight either one of those guys?”
Teofimo: “Right now, I’m just really thinking about I have a lot of ideas. I have a lot of things in mind for the sport of boxing. I really I really do that if I’m always in the gym training and preparing for another upcoming fight.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6MSPh-1qeQ