It was just your usual boxing banter on X/Twitter this past weekend. Devin Haney, who has not fought since facing Ryan Garcia back in April, announced that he would be returning to action in March. To which Teofimo Lopez responded by challenging him to a fight.
Now this being modern day boxing, there was no way that Haney and Lopez would actually square off this spring. But in recent weeks, the two had been pretending to want to fight one another with supposed offers and counter-offers.
They are probably no closer to facing one another than they were a few years ago when they were moving up the boxing food chain. The reality is that Haney's 2025 debut will be broadcast on BLK Prime (remember them?) and it was reported a couple of weeks ago that Top Rank was planning a March 15 date for Lopez against former 140-pound belt-holder, Subriel Matias.
Neither was truly in one another's plan for their next bout. But in today's game, boxers have to give the impression that they are the ones that are trying to do everything in their power to face the biggest perceived threats, and that it's their rivals who are doing the ducking and dodging.
That isn't to say that Haney and Lopez haven't faced quality opposition. To the contrary, both have some notable names on their ledger, and are accomplished professionals. But when it comes to one another, it's become a battle of egos and clout. A high profile pissing contest.
Today's young stars are more apt to tweet at one another, then throw punches in each other's direction.
By Sunday morning, Top Rank caught some of the shrapnel from this conflict, as the mercurial Lopez tweeted this out:
This is nothing new for Lopez whose relationship with the company that has handled his career from the beginning runs hot-and-cold (sometimes in the same week). That bout with Matias was reportedly going to be a pay-per-view event, which seems a bit mind-boggling. Bob Arum, who is not keen on losing money, recently stated that he preferred that it not be one. Lopez for all his talents and accomplishments, it's still a guy that plays in small venues.
The gate receipts for his fights don't match his delusion.
Lopez had two lackluster efforts against Jamaine Ortiz and Steve Claggett in 2024, but shutting down plans to fight two more times to end the year. This was supposed to be a year where Lopez stayed active, sharpened his tools and raised his profile.
What you have in Lopez is a fighter who believes that not only is he one of the sports best, but should be one of the games biggest stars. The problem is that he's as temperamental as he is talented. It has to be pointed out that Lopez has had two defining victories in his career. They came against Vasyl Lomachenko for the lightweight championship, and then Josh Taylor for the recognized junior welterweight title.
He followed the Lomachenko victory by leveraging a purse bid against Top Rank through Triller in a bold gambit that ended up with him losing to George Kambosos on DAZN more than a year later. Lopez capitalized on the momentum of his conquest of Taylor by promptly announcing his retirement on Max Kellerman's show. Now after years of performing on ESPN, Lopez has some ideas on the next platform on which to ply his trade.
Forget Kambosos, Lopez's toughest opponent has been himself.
Anyhooo, to wrap this up, Haney will be on BLK fighting TBA, while Lopez will be lost in his own deep thoughts.
They will however, not be facing one another any time soon.
