WBO Super Lightweight Champion Teofimo Lopez has poured cold water on reports that he’s negotiating a deal to fight WBC Super Lightweight Champion Devin Haney. While speaking to fans on social media, Lopez claimed that he hadn’t received anything regarding a potential showdown with Haney.
“[There are] rumors going [around]. That’s all I know. [There are] a lot of rumors. I haven’t received [anything]. that’s all I know,” Lopez said.
Moreover, Haney is not Lopez’s ideal opponent. The New York native maintains that he’d like to fight WBA Super Welterweight Champion Terence Crawford next.
“Next year, I promise you guys that [the] fight [with Terence Crawford] is going to happen sometime in the summer,” he continued.
[It’ll happen] next year or close to the fall. 2025 [will be] an amazing year for the Takeover. We [have] got a lot of great fights [coming up]. I’m hearing rumors, of course, about the negotiations of Devin Haney [and I]. Right now, sorry to say guys, but this is all false. [They are just] ccusations until further notice, guys.”Lopez has fought twice in 2024. In February, he lumbered to a unanimous decision win against Jamaine Ortiz and then beat Steve Claggett by unanimous decision in Miami, Floria on June 29. It’s unclear when Lopez will fight again as he’s entangled in a contract dispute with his promoter, Top Rank.
Lopez inked a contract extension with Top Rank ahead of his December 2022 bout with Sandor Martin. Lopez claims the contract extension was supposed to kick in after he beat his originally scheduled opponent, Jose Pedraza. However, his opponent ended up being Martin and that’s where the dispute lies. The super lightweight champion claims the contract extension is “invalid” due to the change of opponent while Top Rank’s Bob Arum says Lopez’s gripe makes “no logical sense.”
