Is the Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. Teofimo Lopez lightweight title-unification fight in danger of falling apart?
Lopez has rejected an offer of more than $1.2 million and is prepared to walk away from the fight, according to The Athletic. Lomachenko, No. 1 on Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list, reportedly accepted in excess of $3.25 million for the fight, which is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 3 in Las Vegas.
Lopez was told that he will make a fraction of that amount if he were to defend his title against someone else, per The Athletic report.
“We’re working on it,” Top Rank President Todd duBoef told the outlet. “We started our conversations earlier this week and we’re working on coming to terms to make the match.”
If the fight falls apart, we might never see it. Lomachenko, a small 135-pounder, has said he wants to move down to 130. Meanwhile, Lopez will soon make the move to 140.
The fight was supposed to have taken place on May 30 at Madison Square Garden but it was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Meanwhile, Top Rank CEO Bob Arum told BoxingScene.com that the fight might not be televised on pay-per-view, as expected. It could land on ESPN+, the sports network’s streaming service. No decision has been made.