IF TEOFIMO LOPEZ is to return to boxing then he wants to be paid his worth.
That value in his eyes has shot up enormously following his win over Josh Taylor in New York at the weekend.
Winning the WBO super-lightweight belt is the second division Lopez has achieved success in having won three trinkets one division below at lightweight.
His performance at the Madison Square Garden Theatre was reminiscent of his win over Vasiliy Lomachenko three years ago but more dominant. The three judges on Saturday night awarded Lopez a unanimous decision with scorecards of 115-113, 117-111 and 115-113 again.
Afterwards the winner announced his retirement from the sport despite only being 25 years old. The Brooklynite went on to speak of personal issues involving a custody battle with his ex-wife for their son, Junior.
Lopez was a guest yesterday on Shawn Porter’s podcast The Porter Way to talk more about his reasons for leaving the sport and what he believes to be his value.
“I’m gonna retire, take a step back from everything. I don’t think there’s no need for me right now. I’m gonna help fighters rather than anybody helping me at this point especially in the business aspect. They’re not paying me enough. They’re only giving me a million dollars a fight.”
The outspoken fighter courted plenty controversy in the run-up to Saturday night. During an interview with Punsh Drunk Boxing Lopez said: “Just to put it on the spot, this is my last fight on ESPN. I’m sorry, but I’m not sorry. This is why this fight (Josh Taylor) means everything to me. If they want the Black fighters, they can keep them. I brought Bud Lite to Top Rank.”
During the build-up Lopez also claimed he wanted to take Taylor’s life, something he directly apologised to Taylor for after their fight.
The new belt holder at 140lbs told The Porter Way that part of the reason for his retirement is down to his family and the things he says.
“My family has been very concerned with the way I’ve been expressing things,” he said. Whether it’s the black fighter’s comment, whether it was certain other comments. I’m not racist I just see it from a business aspect of things. I think it rubbed people differently because they’re not understanding my expression of words. How I say things, I suppose.
“I don’t want that pressure on them being like they gotta be fearful for their life because someone’s gonna do something to me. No-one’s gonna do anything to me. They gotta talk to the father first before any of that. I need everybody to calm down, let me figure out something else.”
The former 2016 Olympian plans to open a two-storey boxing and MMA gym in South Florida where he and his father can recruit and train fighters for their company Takeover Promotions.
“Teach them how to talk on the mic, educate them, how to be financially stable and show them they can do it, too. You don’t have to sell your soul to do certain things like that to get your riches,” Lopez Jr said.
Continuing, he added that he was the “black sheep” of the boxing industry. The Top Rank fighter went on to discuss the value he has brought to ESPN and what it will take to get him back in the ring.
“I think the only way you get Teo bag is a nine-figure deal,” he remarked.
“I’ve made ESPN over a hundred million dollars. I’m still getting paid a million dollars a fight while all these other fighters [who] have not even done a quarter of what I’ve accomplished in the sport are getting eight, ten, twelve, fifteen million dollars.
“Obviously, I’m the black sheep of the industry and they’re really hurting me on that end. I really wanna fix the sport of the boxing world and the corruption that’s going on. Obviously, it doesn’t happen overnight. Rome wasn’t built in a day, but we need to help these young kids that are out there right now and parents and families.”
