Arum Wants Teofimo Vs. Haney Fight If Devin Vacates WBC Title

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum would like to make a fight between Devin Haney and Teofimo Lopez next if Devin chooses to vacate his WBC light welterweight title rather than defend it against his mandatory Sandor Martin.

Arum is now unsure if Haney (31-1, 15 KOs) will fight Martin after his Top Rank promotional company won the purse bid with a $2.42M bid on Tuesday.

Haney grumbled about the bid and made a snide remark about Matchroom not bidding on the Martin fight. Later that evening, Haney seemed interested in the news that Mario Barrios had been upgraded to full WBC welterweight champion.

The “Spoiled Fighter” Syndrome

That gave fans on social media the impression that Haney was considering vacating his WBC 140-lb title to move up to 147 to challenge Barrios for his belt.

Haney could be spoiled rotten after getting an enormous payday against Ryan Garcia on April 20th, and he’s not happy returning to the kind of money he was making before fighting him. We see that a lot in the sport.

A fighter gets a big payday and then expects all their fights to be for similar money. They end up sitting out of the ring for extended periods, waiting for another big money fight to fall into their laps.

Their skills and popularity erode with the time out of the ring, and they make less money when they fight again. Haney is just one example of a spoiled fighter.

“If we can arrange a Teofimo – Haney fight, which is an interesting fight, then we’ll try to do that,” said promoter Bob Arum to Fighthype about his desire to make a fight between Teofimo Lopez and Devin Haney if the Sandor Martin fight fails to happen.

Can Haney Win a Decision?

If you’re Haney, you’ve got to be a little wary about fighting Teofimo Lopez, given his recent history of controversial wins over Jamaine Ortiz and Sandor Martin in fights the boxing world saw him lose.

A fight between Haney and Teofimo would likely be staged in New York, where Devin would be up against it when it came to the judging. Jamaine and Sandor both dominated Teofimo, but they wound up losing. We saw the same thing happen to Vasily Lomachenko in a controversial loss against Teofimo. Does Haney really want to receive similar treatment?

“Everybody has to make their own choices. As long as their honest about it and don’t try to blame and cast aspersions on other people. Devin is a nice young man and he’s never done that. So whether he decides to fight Sandor Martin or doesn’t, that’s up to him,” said Arum.