The long-awaited showdown between Teofimo Lopez and Subriel Matias appears to be finally happening. According to ESPN’s Mike Coppinger, the two elite super lightweight contenders are “finalizing a deal” to headline a Top Rank Boxing card on ESPN+ PPV on March 15th.
Lopez, the reigning WBO champion, has been actively pursuing unification bouts with the other champions in the division, but those efforts have thus far proven unsuccessful. After a dominant victory over Vasiliy Lomachenko in 2020, “The Takeover” has experienced a slight dip in form, scoring less impressive wins over Jamaine Ortiz and Steve Claggett.
Matias, a former IBF champion, is eager to reclaim world title glory. He suffered a setback in his last title defense, losing his belt to Liam Paro in June. However, he quickly bounced back with a devastating second-round knockout of Roberto Ramirez in his return to the ring last month.
Known for his explosive punching power, Matias boasts a perfect knockout record with 21 victories in 21 fights. He captured the IBF title with a fifth-round TKO of Jeremias Ponce in February 2023 and followed that up with a sixth-round stoppage of Shohjahon Ergashev before facing Paro.
Subriel Matias ( Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)
This matchup has been highly anticipated for some time. Matchroom Boxing chief Eddie Hearn, who promotes Matias, has been vocal about his desire to see this fight materialize. “I want him [Matias] to fight all the big fights at 140lbs,” Hearn declared on the Matchroom Boxing YouTube channel earlier this year. “You’ve got the winner of Haney against Ryan Garcia, just give me Teofimo Lopez for Subriel Matias. Please if you’re watching this, Teofimo Lopez please fight Subriel Matias, it will make me smile.”
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Lopez offered to fight Matias last year
While Lopez did offer to fight Matias last year, scheduling conflicts prevented the bout from happening. This led to some heated exchanges between the two fighters. “He is a coward,” Matias declared at the time.
“He says that he has offered to fight me and the reason why he has made that fight is because I recently fought and I won’t be ready and prepared for that fight. If he is a man of his word then he will take the fight with me. And a message for his dad: stopping talking s*** to me. If he wants to fight me, he can fight me. There are dates: April and March. If he wants to face me then he needs to stop being a coward and stop talking s***,” he added.
Now, it appears their long-awaited clash is finally set to become a reality. The March 15th date promises an explosive showdown between two of the division’s most exciting punchers. However, official confirmation awaits.
