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“Makes Sense Why DAZN Cut Your Budget”: Teofimo Lopez Gives Grim Reality Check to Eddie Hearn After Recent Matchroom Fight Announcement

Published 01/24/2024, 1:46 PM EST

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Eddie Hearn, with his Matchroom Boxing, has powered through the business like no one else. However, with such a success, it also brings foes. One among them remains the WBO Super Lightweight champion, Teofimo Lopez. In a continuing aggression toward the promoter, Lopez has now outlined why the downfall of Hearn and his company is around the corner.

Earlier, the British promoter had taken shots at him by claiming that Lopez had an over-inflated sense of self when it comes to selling fights. In response, Lopez claimed that his fight against Josh Taylor was the highest-selling event at Madison Square Garden Theatre. He called the promoter, “a fluke and a liar.” Hearn dismissed Lopez’s claims, noting that the fighter “talks absolute sh*t.” While it seemed like the escalations had died down, Lopez has reignited it by taking shots at the newly announced Matchroom event.

Teofimo Lopez Predicts Eddie Hearn’s Downfall

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In an X post, Matchroom Boxing announced their headliner for March 23 between Dalton Smith and Jose Zepeda. Using the opportunity to invoke the hashtag #EddieGoByeBye, the 26-year-old fighter replied to the post, “Yeah, makes sense why @dazngroup cut your budget! You guys will be done soon enough. Best believe Boxing is looking forward to it! Including myself.” There is no confirmation if the PPV partners of the promotions company are cutting down on their budget.

Ever since the Smith vs. Zepeda fight was announced, the boxing community has flagged concerns about the event not being a success. Critics highlight that both Smith and Zepeda might not be able to sell fights, especially during a season where other high-profile fights are also scheduled. As a co-headliner, Sandy Ryan will face off against Terri Harper. It will be Ryan’s defence of her WBO Welterweight belt. However, will that also be enough to sell tickets? Lopez hints otherwise.

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Smith, the Yorkshire-based fighter is undefeated and is coming from a strong victory over Sam Maxwell via a 7th-round TKO. His opponent, the Californian, Zepada comes with 4 losses etched in his 43-fight career. Both the fighters, relatively still finding their space in the sport, are a huge gamble that Hearn has taken to put as a headliner.

 

While such pre-fight analysis might be purely from a business perspective, where does Lopez’s critique of the promoter stem from?

Where it all began…

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During the entire back-and-forth between Lopez and Hearn, the latter voiced out his concern. Where does Teofimo Lopez’s disdain for him stem from? Not sure of the answer, Hearn noted to Boxing Social“Like, firstly, I don’t even know why. All this beef with me is because he lost to George Kamobosos, and he feels that it was my fault, that he didn’t get the decision.” 

After the Las Vegas-based fighter was dealt his career’s first loss against George Kambosos Jr. in 2017, his father blamed Hearn and DAZN for the defeat. To Seconds Out, he said, “We should’ve never fought with DAZN, I should’ve stood with Top Rank ‘cause those are the people that really love us.” The promoter also revealed that Lopez Sr. had confronted him on his son’s loss, attributing the blame on the promoter.

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The Teofimo Lopez-Eddie Hearn fiasco continues. Meanwhile, Dalton Smith vs. Jose Zepeda will still happen. Do you think Lopez’s hint that the fight might not do good stands any ground? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Written by:

Mohammed Shafiulla

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As Manny Pacquiao once said, “Boxing is not about your feelings. It’s about performance.” Through my writing, I hope to bring this performance closer to boxing fans.
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Edited by:

Gokul Pillai