Teofimo Lopez Never Intended To Retire – ‘It Was A Publicity Stunt’
Teofimo Lopez had no intention of retiring, despite expressing his intention to do so,
Lopez made those comments after beating Josh Taylor to become the WBO junior welterweight champion. The win made him a two-weight and two-time lineal champion, as he gave Taylor his first loss. After the fight, Lopez sensationally announced he was retiring from the sport.
He would only come out of retirement if he was being given nine-figure paydays. It was only a matter of time before Lopez had to vacate the belt. The champion backtracked on those words as he is set to face Jamaine Ortiz on February 8, 2024 during Super Bowl week. That has not gotten Lopez that mega payday, but he did reveal his retirement was just a publicity stunt.
Lopez On Retirement
“I had to milk the game. I wasn’t gonna retire, it was a publicity stunt. You gotta know how to work the media too,” Lopez said
One of the factors that has prevented Lopez from making those big fights has been his view of his commercial value. The Takeover’s insistence on mega purses has yet to have the solid foundation of a strong PPV background and big live gates. Lopez reportedly failed to sell out his hometown in New York at Madison Square Garden for the Josh Taylor fight. Eddie Hearn confirmed as much, showing that the Takeover’s talent does not translate into ticket sales. Although that may be the case, Lopez denied this was true.
Lopez On Hearn
“To everybody out there in the boxing world and to all the casual fans listening to this right now, Eddie Hearn is a fluke and a liar and lying to you guys. The thing that he said about me saying I can’t sell out arenas and stuff—you know, not only did we sell out, me and Josh Taylor, for The Theater at Madison Square Garden. You also know what else we did? We hit the highest gross in boxing history presenting in The Theater at Madison Square Garden,” Lopez revealed
Eddie Hearn has now responded, stating that Lopez’s personal issues with him are getting in the way of the fighter seeing the full picture.
“Teofimo Lopez is on another planet. Firstly, all this beef with me is because he lost to George Kambosos and he feels that it was my fault that he didn’t get the decision. Because as you remember, [he said] ‘if this was a Top Rank show, I would’ve won that fight.’ What? F—. Like, the guy, he talks so much sh!t. By the way, what a fighter, what an entertainer, amazing for the sport.
“I think he’s f—— completely deluded and I think he’s on another planet. That is what I think. But sometimes you have to be to do what he does. To go in there to beat Lomachenko, to beat Josh Taylor, you probably have to be a little whack. I’m not mad about it. I don’t hate the guy. I just listen to his interviews and go, ‘you talk absolute s**t.’
“We crept over the line for a sell out at The Theater (for Lopez vs. Kambosos). He didn’t sell out against Josh Taylor,” Hearn stated
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