Teofimo Lopez has lifted the lid on why he turned down the chance to fight former IBF super-lightweight champion Subriel Matias.
Lopez has not boxed since June when he defended his WBO belt via a low-key and lopsided points victory over Steve Claggett.
However a far more intriguing fight looked to be on the cards when it was revealed that talks had begun about a 2025 clash between Lopez and the big-punching Puerto Rican Matias.
The 32-year-old lost his title in one of the biggest shocks of last year when Liam Paro outpointed him in Manati on June 15th but he got back to winning ways by stopping Roberto Ramirez in November.
Matias looked set for a crack at Lopez’s belt until Top Rank boss Bob Arum confirmed that the 27-year-old New Yorker had rejected the potential match-up.
And, when his 140lb rival Devin Haney asked him via Twitter exactly why he turned down the fight, Lopez explained his reasoning.
“Because Top Rank wanted to host it on the west coast when it should be in NYC,” he said.
“[They] Forced it to be on PPV and, lastly, offered $2.8m when I am the last star power they have left.”
