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Devin Haney And Teofimo Lopez Get Heated To Spark Fight | Mikey Garcia Takes A Tuneup ‘L’

Posted byBy Rhett Butler | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

The boxing beef cooked thoroughly over the weekend as the lightweight division attempted to work itself out in living color.

As boxing fans have begged for the four young kings of the lightweight division, two came face-to-face at the Mikey Garcia vs. Sandor Martin fight.

The Faceoff

After Sandor Martin’s upset win over Mikey Garcia on Saturday night, Teofimo Lopez and Devin Haney got in each other’s faces. They were joined by their trainer fathers, and all exchanged words with 135-pound champion ramifications.

Although it didn’t get physical, the hatred was palpable, and the eventual separation only stirred the pot for a future fight.

With boxing on an upswing after the trilogy fight between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder, the lightweight division also offers real value for fans.

The division is currently full of champions in their primes that need to fight one another. The division is led by three-belt lightweight world champion Teofimo Lopez and WBC titlist Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia, and Gervonta Davis.

However, none of those potential bouts have happened as of yet.

Necessary Evil

Haney and Lopez seem to be inching closer to a fight being made based on the energy, social media reaction, and bad intentions.

Lopez attended the Mikey Garcia fight to promote his upcoming fight against George Kambosos on DAZN in the fall. Haney was there to interview during the broadcast to discuss a potential bout with JoJo Diaz targeted for December.

Of course, the U.K.’s most formidable promoter, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing, was in attendance to stir the pot even more. Hearn, who promotes Haney, won the purse bid for Lopez-Kambosos when Triller Fight Club defaulted on the event.

Promoter Politics

“I had a meeting with Devin earlier,” Hearn told DAZN News after the fracas. “It’s very frustrating at the moment with Jojo Diaz and a whole situation of people not wanting to fight Devin Haney.

“Devin’s always told me Ryan Garcia will never fight me. I didn’t necessarily believe him, but I do believe him now. I said to him tonight, ‘Teofimo Lopez will fight you.’ He said he won’t. I said, ‘I reckon he will.’ He said, ‘I’m telling you he won’t.’

“And when he turned up tonight, someone shouted something and he went over and they go head-to-head. He said, ‘Look, I’m gonna f— you up.’ I said [to Haney and Lopez], ‘Guys, you are fighting on DAZN, which is great. Teo, you are fighting George Kambosos and Devin, you are hopefully fighting JoJo Diaz. It’s the week after each other. Let’s make the fight.’

“And then everybody started up and arguing for about 20 minutes. I said, ‘Guys, can we just get one thing clear to Teo’s dad: We want the fight.’ He (Lopez Sr.) said, ‘No, we want the fight.’ I said, ‘Well then, let’s stop arguing, get through our fights and get it made.’ I know Devin will fight him and I do believe Teo will fight him. I think you will see that fight in spring of next year.”

The Law Of Averages

However, it has historically been challenging to make fights in the boxing business. Politics, injuries, and other intangibles permanently cancel out great bouts when fighters are in their prime.

Hopefully, head of Top Rank Bob Arum, who promotes Lopez, will greenlight a lightweight match for the ages.

“I think Bob would make that fight,” said Hearn. “It would be a huge one for the undisputed title.”

Boxing’s continuous upswing depends on spontaneous moments and fighters facing each other during their prime. Haney and Lopez might have solidified the future greatness of the lightweight division.

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