Bob Arum Issues a Statement on Teofimo Lopez: Is He Trying to Lowball ‘The Takeover’?

Published 02/20/2021, 1:30 PM EST

The Teofimo Lopez vs George Kambosos Jr. fight will head to purse bids in the coming days. This is because, both the fighters wanted even bigger paychecks than what was offered earlier. But, Teofimo Lopez’s promoter, Bob Arum, isn’t happy with the fight going to purse bids. He wanted to stage this fight in his own mighty way, but the pugilists have altogether different plans in their minds.

In an interview with The Athletic, Arum unveiled his notions on the pertaining scenario.

“Teofimo has a three and a half year contract with us. If somebody else outbids us and gets the fight, it’s a one-off… I’m not happy with the way it’s played out,” he said. (h/t Michael Benson)

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Arum believes there’s nothing illegal in fighters wanting more money through purse bids. However, he is of the belief that it hampers a relationship between the fighter and promoter. He admitted that a fighter should solely deal with his promoter, if he does not, then it puts the promotion into the dreadful picture.

Lopez is one top-graded boxer in Arum’s Top Rank Promotions, and the latter always wishes to stage his every fight in a mammoth way. But, in a few days, it seems as though the former will see his wish fulfilled.

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Teofimo Lopez vs George Kambosos Jr. likely to be in the spring?

The George Kambosos Jr. fight is the ‘Takeover’s mandatory title defense. Earlier, their promotions were in talks to stage the fight in Kambosos’ home-country, Australia, and allow an in-stadium audience. But, because of Covid-19 restrictions and quarantine rules, the fight was moved to the USA and might take place in the spring.

Kambosos became a mandatory challenger after defeating Lee Selby in 2020.

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Lopez will enter the ring after a sensational 2020 season, wherein he became The Ring magazine Fighter of the Year for his exemplary performance against Vasyl Lomachenko.

The ‘Takeover’ will look to astonish everyone with his performance against Kambosos Jr. Subsequently, he’ll look to unify the lightweight belts and become undisputed at 135 pounds.

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The official dates for this contest might get revealed in just a few days from now.

What do you make of Arum’s comments? Can purse bids help this fight garner the attention and numbers as expected?

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Written by:

Prathamesh Singh Chauhan is a Boxing Author at EssentiallySports. He is a graduate from the International Institute of Sports Management who combines his love for sports, particularly combat sports, and his flair for writing and analysis to help him in his day-to-day work. He has prior professional experience with sporting organizations such as Star Sports, Khelo India, and NBA.

Bob Arum Issues a Statement on Teofimo Lopez: Is He Trying to Lowball ‘The Takeover’?

Teofimo Lopez vs George Kambosos Jr. likely to be in the spring?

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