Teofimo Lopez apparently believes boxing politics may get in the way of a fight with Regis Prograis.
In a tweet posted on Friday, Lopez, the former unified lightweight champion and current junior welterweight contender, seemed to make the argument that WBC 140-pound champion Regis Prograis is banned from fighting in the United States because of his promotional affiliations.
Prograis is promoted by Probellum, an entity that some have claimed is backed by Daniel Kinahan, the alleged Irish drug cartel boss who made inroads in boxing through his now-defunct management company MTK. Top Rank head Bob Arum, Lopez’s promoter, has accused Probellum of being in the pocket of Kinahan, and vowed, last year, never to work with Kinahan-connected entities shortly after the US Department of Treasury imposed sanctions on Kinahan and several of his associates.
Of course, Prograis, a New Orleans native who lives and trains in Houston, Texas, recently fought in Los Angeles, winning the vacant WBC strap with an 11th-round stoppage of Jose Zepeda.
Lopez said he thinks a purse bid between him and Prograis might be one way around the problem.
“This MF’ (Prograis) calling out my name knowing damn well with his new signing with Probellum it’s quote on quote ‘linked with MTK’s Main guy’ so that means anyone that is in cahoots with MTK is blacklisted from the USA and etc.,” Lopez wrote. “It’s Up to WBC to see what’s next at this point. Purse bid?”
Lopez is technically next in line in the WBC rankings to face Prograis, a development that has occurred thanks to Lopez’s Top Rank stablemate, Jose Ramirez, who declined his mandated title shot against Prograis last month because he believed the terms of the purse split, 65-35 in favor of Prograis, were unfair to him. That 65-35 figure was actually negotiated down by Top Rank from 70-30, the standard WBC purse split for mandated title fights.
The WBC has not officially decreed that Lopez will face Prograis. The sanctioning body recently ruled that Prograis would be allowed to have a voluntary defense against anyone in the Top 15.
Prograis responded straightaway, saying he thinks Lopez simply does not want to fight.
"How I am blacklisted from the US?” Prograis wrote. “My last fight was in LA. Last time I checked that was apart [sic] of the United States. If you don’t want to fight just say that instead of making up bullsh!t.
“Teo has some of his screws loose” [clown face emoji]” Prograis added in a follow-up post.
In an ironic twist, Ramirez’s manager, Rick Mirigian, who has had his fair share of heated back and forths with Prograis, chimed in to take the champion's side. Mirigian stated that he does not believe a purse bid is an actual remedy to Lopez's situation because the purse split will remain the same, 70-30 in favor of Prograis. Mirigian has repeatedly stated that Lopez’s team will not countenance such unfavorable terms. Mirigian also accused Lopez of “ducking” Ramirez and his other client, junior welterweight contender Arnold Barboza Jr."
“Come on now, @Rprograis just fought in LA couple months ago, you also know you ain’t going to purse bid & fighting for 30 percent and for sure after ducking @jrBarbozaArnold & @RAMIREZBOXING you ain’t fighting Prograis. Reach out to [Yuriorkis] Gamboa, more your speed and type of fight [shrugs emoji],” Mirigian wrote.
The 25-year-old Lopez is coming off a lukewarm points win over Spain’s Sandor Martin at Madison Square Garden in New York City in December.