Teofimo Lopez won't fight Devin Haney this summer. The two champions agreed to a 145lb catchweight bout in Saudi Arabia on August 16, but Lopez pulled out due to personal reasons.
Last month, Lopez defended his WBO super-lightweight title against Arnold Barboza Jr. He won by unanimous decision in Times Square, New York. On the same card, Haney beat Jose Ramirez on points.
Earlier this week, news broke that the two had agreed to face each other. But Lopez quickly rejected the offer. Haney and many fans thought Lopez was scared to fight.
The real reason came out when Keith Connolly, Lopez's co-manager, spoke to Ring Magazine. He said:
"Unfortunately, Teo won't be fighting in August for personal reasons that I will keep confidential. We want to thank His Excellency for the opportunity and everything he has done for Teo."
Connolly explained that Lopez needs more time to prepare mentally and physically:
"We planned on fighting but with what was going on he wanted to make sure he was 100% right mentally and physically and August was just too quick of a turnaround. I expect Teo to be back later this year, bigger and better than ever."
Lopez will stay out of the ring until later in the year. The fight with Haney won't happen soon, but they might revisit the idea in the future.
