Teófimo López Announces He Will Keep Title

Teófimo López (19-1, 13 KOs) has announced on Twitter that he intends to keep his WBO super lightweight title and called for a fight with current undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney (30-0, 15 KOs).

Came out of retirement (I guess) because the next move was for Devin Haney to fight sorry ass Arnold Barboza for my WBO championship title at 140lbs.

F’ that. I’m tired of helping this kid be something that he is not. And that’s a real champion!

— Teofimo Lopez (@TeofimoLopez) July 13, 2023

López became a two division champion with a win over Josh Taylor in June. In the aftermath of the fight, he announced that he was relinquishing the WBO title. Now, however, it appears that he intends to keep the belt and continue fighting. WBO President Paco Valcárcel confirmed in a tweet that López has stated in writing of his intention to retain the title.

The game is over..@TeofimoLopez just informed me in writing that he will retain his @WorldBoxingOrg jr welterweight title …@DanRafael1 @JakeNDaBox @MikeCoppinger @pugboxing @ChavaESPN @LoMejorDelBoxeo @NotiFight

— Paco Valcárcel, Esq. (@PacoValcarcel) July 13, 2023

Teófimo López vs. Devin Haney?

Following his win over Vasyl Lomachenko, Haney’s three-fight deal with Top Rank Boxing came to an end. This allowed him to pursue a deal to fight on any network with a promotional company of his choosing. Due to his status as an undisputed champion at lightweight, many of the sanctioning bodies would be willing to allow him to compete for their world title at super lightweight. Haney requested an additional 24 hours from the WBO to decide whether he will move up or not. However, that request was denied. While that took place, López decided to keep his title and call out Haney.

At the moment, it is not entirely clear what direction either man will go in. Given that both recently fought on ESPN, Top Rank Boxing may try to schedule a fight between the two later this year. There has also been talk of a potential bout between Haney and Regis Prograis, the current WBC super lightweight champion. Since Haney is at the end of his contract with Top Rank Boxing, he is free to go back to working with Matchroom Boxing, a company he has worked with in the past.

For now, what remains clear is that López has not retired from boxing and that he still possesses the WBO super lightweight title. On the other hand, Haney continues to be the undisputed lightweight champion. Hopefully, the coming weeks make things a lot clearer.