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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JULY 9: Rolly Romero and Teofimo Lopez face off during the press conference to announce their fight on July 9, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Melina Pizano\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Teofimo Lopez<\/a> has revealed why he chose a direct deal with DAZN instead of joining Zuffa Boxing ahead of his move to the welterweight division. The former two-division world champion will face WBA welterweight champion Rolly Romero<\/a> on August 22 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The fight will be Lopez\u2019s first under his DAZN agreement and his debut at 147 pounds.<\/p>\n Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show<\/a>, produced with Uncrowned and Yahoo Sports, Lopez said the choice came down to the opportunity, financial terms and safeguards in the DAZN agreement. He also explained that Zuffa Boxing\u2019s plan to place him in the Theater at Madison Square Garden did not match his expectations.<\/p>\n Teofimo Lopez Explains Zuffa Boxing Concerns<\/p>\n Lopez said Zuffa Boxing discussed putting him on the Edgar Berlanga-Richardson Hitchins card in New York. However, he did not want to return to a smaller venue after fighting in front of more than 22,000 people at Madison Square Garden.<\/p>\n \u201cHow can you go from, you know, the most attendance ever recorded at Madison Square Garden with over 22,000 people in attendance and go back to a small room?\u201d<\/p>\n He said Zuffa Boxing planned to use the Theater at Madison Square Garden rather than the main arena.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of things didn\u2019t play out the way I wanted to see it, how I envisioned it.\u201d<\/p>\n Lopez also cited concerns involving Zuffa Boxing and boxing\u2019s sanctioning bodies. \u201cAnd then, you know, the things that occurred with Zuffa with the sanctioning bodies, hearing those things, it\u2019s just a lot of scruffles.\u201d<\/p>\n Why Teofimo Lopez Chose DAZN<\/p>\n Lopez said the DAZN agreement better fits his goal of becoming undisputed at 147 pounds. The welterweight division is now the main target for Teofimo Lopez after his move up from lightweight.<\/p>\n \u201cAs long as I keep on winning and continue to strive for Undisputed at 147, you know, this is going to be a no-brainer decision on why we took this deal with DAZN.\u201d<\/p>\n Lopez also pointed to protections built into the DAZN deal. \u201cYou know, we get to audit them. We get to do a lot of safety measures just to be safe with anything that ever comes up when it comes to the ALI Act and et cetera, et cetera.\u201d<\/p>\n He added that the DAZN deal was stronger financially.<\/p>\n \u201cDAZN deal was so far better than what it was expected. Respectfully, I just think that when it comes to it, it\u2019s nothing personal, it\u2019s just business.\u201d<\/p>\n DAZN Deal Could Shape Teofimo Lopez\u2019s Welterweight Run<\/p>\n Lopez said name, image and likeness rights, ownership and fight rights were key parts of the DAZN agreement. He believes those terms will become more important as he grows into a bigger name in boxing.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd the NILs are a main key factor there, you know, the NILs, the ownership, the fight rights, all those things are a huge key factor once you become that one of the biggest, one of the big stars and one of the big names in the sport of boxing.\u201d<\/p>\n The Teofimo Lopez deal also reflects his interest in helping other fighters. He said he wants to use his promotional platform to provide stronger benefits to fighters he eventually signs.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m here to truly, truly, you know, really support and take care of the next generation. I would like to eventually get, you know, I\u2019m going to say health insurance and all these great things to the fighters that I signed.\u201d<\/p>\n The DAZN agreement now gives Lopez a new platform as he begins his welterweight run against Rolly Romero and pursues the undisputed championship.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tDogli Wilberforce<\/a> is a writer covering NASCAR, Formula 1, and the IndyCar Series for Heavy Sports. He has also written for Sportsnaut, FanSided, Total Apex Sports, and Last Word on Sports. Wilberforce focuses on the NASCAR Cup Series, breaking down news, driver stories, and key moments with a clear, fast, and engaging style. His work connects headlines to context, helping readers understand what matters most in the sport. More about Dogli Wilberforce<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JULY 9: Rolly Romero and Teofimo Lopez face off during the press conference…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":865045,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[447],"tags":[703,49,48,82],"class_list":["post-865044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-boxing","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=865044"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865044\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/865045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=865044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=865044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=865044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}