Lopez questions reported deal and comments on Zuffa Boxing’s role in the sport

Teofimo Lopez says he does not believe reports that Devin Haney has been offered a $100 million deal to join Zuffa Boxing. Lopez also shared his view on the promotion’s growing presence in boxing.

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Lopez questioned the reported figure tied to Haney and compared Zuffa’s spending to previous periods when major boxing promoters aggressively pursued fighters.

“Man, that’s false. There’s no way they’re paying that much. Man, I just want the best fights,” said Teofimo to Fighthype, when asked about his thoughts on reports of Haney receiving a $100 million contract to sign with Zuffa Boxing. “They always say follow the money. In this time and day, it’s prize fighting. That’s what it is. The Zuffa belt, from what I heard, is just a trophy. It’s not necessarily a sanctioning body belt. But things can change within the time frame of 10 years. Obviously, Zuffa has their own promotion, and competitors can make it, let’s just say, difficult for the sanctioning bodies. But everybody has got to come together eventually.”

Lopez then pointed to the rumored Conor Benn vs. Ryan Garcia fight while discussing how traditional sanctioning bodies could still become involved with Zuffa-backed events.

“If they’re talking, and that’s just rumors, of Conor Benn and Ryan Garcia, if that’s the case, the WBC is going to be on the line. And if Conor Benn is with Zuffa, then what are we talking about? In 2015, Al Haymon, when they were really launching everything, they were overpaying everybody. Then Eddie Hearn with Matchroom came, they were overpaying everybody. Now, you got Zuffa Boxing. They’re overpaying everybody. It’s just a new cycle.”

Lopez also suggested the criticism surrounding Zuffa Boxing may be more connected to personalities involved behind the scenes than the actual business model itself.