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Mike Coppinger brings the latest word on the (functionally) undisputed lightweight title fight between Vasiliy Lomachenko and Teofimo Lopez, and the news isn’t good. Lopez reportedly “rejected a take-it-or-leave-it offer of $1.2 million” and is now “resigned” to defending his IBF title against a different opponent.
Lomachenko (14-1, 10 KO) accepted a “financial package” in excess of $3.25 million “earlier this week.”
Negotiations have been rocky since the beginning. The two were first linked to a May 30th pay-per-view, but didn’t appear to make any real progress by the time the coronavirus crushed those plans. Lopez (15-0, 12 KO) initially claimed that he wouldn’t fight Lomachenko without an audience, though he later changed his tone, and a potential September date was quietly pushed back to October 3rd.
Between this and the failure to get Canelo a September 12th opponent despite months of preparation, it’s looking like it’ll be a while before we get another true blockbuster fight. In the meantime, we’ll have to content ourselves with watching decent matchups collapse at the eleventh hour.