After a dominant victory to become the world champion in two divisions, Teofimo Lopez appears no closer to an opponent. After being the unified champion of the previous division, Lopez won the WBO Super-Lightweight World Title in June by unanimous decision over Josh Taylor, who had gone unbeaten and uncontested before. He declared he planned to continue fighting despite a brief hiatus, and the sanctioning body later upgraded him to “super champion.” He has some leeway with mandatory challengers thanks to that tag, and in February 2024, it was widely predicted that he would choose to mount a voluntary defense. According to Oscar De La Hoya, the man representing Ryan Garcia, and Bob Arum, the promoter of Lopez, the man in the other corner was supposed to be Garcia.
The fight was scheduled for Super Bowl weekend, but it was contingent upon Garcia winning his rematch with Oscar Duarte the following month. But even before that, when questioned about the discussions, Lopez responded to FightHype with, “No, I declined the offer.”
It remains to be seen whether or not negotiations will resume. Lopez could also go after the Regis Prograis-Devin Haney winner. Haney, who was previously unchallenged at lightweight, has dropped to the 140 weight class and will be vying for Prograis’ WBC World Title on December 9. At just 26 years old, the Brooklyn native has made it apparent that he wants to carry on his already remarkable legacy, so a reunification with Lopez will be high on the winner’s list and a fitting fight for him.