Bob Arum reluctant to place Teofimo Lopez-Subriel Matias on PPV
Jan 1, 2025 • 6:00 AM ET
As piracy has crippled buys and altered the complexion of an option that boxing promoters have previously been eager to explore, one coming high-profile bout may provide some insight into the threshold.
Top Rank Chairman Bob Arum told BoxingScene Monday that he’s increasingly reluctant to place a potential Teofimo Lopez junior-welterweight title defense against former champion Subriel Matias on pay-per-view.
“I’m not so enamored with pay-per-view … so few people buy them now,” Arum said.
While Brooklyn’s charismatic, two-division champion Lopez 27-1 (13 KOs) is a bona fide commodity, Puerto Rico’s Matias 21-2 (21 KOs) lost his IBF belt after one successful defense to since-beaten Liam Paro of Australia.
The fight, being targeted for March 15, according to an original report by ESPN.com, would likely be placed on ESPN rather than pay-per-view if Top Rank chooses.
“We’re losing so many buys with piracy, and until you get a grip on that, the numbers you’re counting on are not the numbers they should be,” Arum said.
The former Department of Justice prosecutor under Robert F. Kennedy said there’s “not enough policing” of the issue that some in boxing have painted as an industry crisis.
“There should be real penalties to those who are ripping off the signal,” Arum said.
Top Rank staff will huddle after their holidays in their Las Vegas offices to further discuss the distribution of the Lopez-Matias bout, which is not officially signed, but one Arum says he “expects to happen.”
Lance Pugmire has been a full-time boxing writer for nearly 20 years, serving now as BoxingScene’s U.S. Senior Writer and assistant producer for ProBoxTV’s “BoxingScene Today.” Pugmire capped a near 20-year career at the Los Angeles Times (sports investigations, NHL/MLB beat work, law enforcement/courts and boxing/UFC) to join The Athletic, and then USA Today. Pugmire’s stint at The Times started with the first Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez fight and the Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather Jnr then-record pay-per-view, leading through a slew of ringside assignments at major bouts, including Mayweather-Pacquiao, Mayweather-Canelo and the Canelo-Golovkin trilogy. Lance’s appreciation for boxing is rooted in his admiration and appreciation for the fighters, gladiators who have proven to be the most forthcoming and candid of all the athletes he has interviewed over a career dating to 1990. Lance was honored to be named the 2022 winner of the Boxing Writers Association of America Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence and he’s collected many BWAA writing awards in categories ranging from breaking news to deep-dive long features.
