Promoter Eddie Hearn is interested in matching IBF light welterweight champion Subriel Matias with WBO belt holder Teofimo Lopez in Saturday night’s title defense against Liam Paro at the Coliseo Juan Aubin Cruz Abreu in Manati, Puerto Rico. . Matias-Paro will be shown live on DAZN.
Heard that he hopes Matias (20-1, 20 KOs) will look good against Paro (24-0, 15 KOs), making fans want to see Subriel fight Teofimo.
The Saudi Factor
It may require the Saudis to get involved for that fight to happen because Teofimo hasn’t shown much interest in taking serious fights since his loss to George Kambosos Jr., and his promoters at Top Rank seem content to match him with guys they know he can beat to avoid another mistake.
Hearn says that Teofimo and WBC light welterweight champion Devin Haney will not be coming to Puerto Rico to fight Matias, which is a true statement. Haney has not talked about wanting to fight Matias at all.
Haney wants a rematch with Ryan Garcia or a fight with Gervonta ‘Tank Davis’ or Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz. He won’t be fighting a dangerous fight, Matias, especially since he just lost to Ryan and is struggling to make the 140-lb limit.
Hearn didn’t mention any realistic options for Matias’ next fight, but former WBC 140-lb champion Regis Prograis and Richardson Hitchins are good options.
Matias Needs to Impress
“What Matias needs is a Saturday night game where the fans go, ‘Wow, we want Teo to face Subriel Matias.’ In my opinion, Teofimo Lopez vs. Subriel Matias is one of the best fights in boxing,” said promoter Eddie Hearn to MillCity Boxing about wanting to make a rematch between Matias who is the IBF 140-lb champion and Teofimo of the WBO if things go well for him. Subriel on Saturday night against Liam Paro.
It is not certain that Matias will win this fight on Saturday night because he may lose if Paro can force him in the right way. Petros Ananyan and Shohjahon Ergashev were.
“You have to want to put this division together, but I also understand that it’s a business, and if the risk doesn’t equal the reward, people won’t want to fight Subriel Matias,” Hearn said. So, we have to make sure that when you fight Subriel Matias, it’s a big fight, a big fight, and big money for it.
Hearn will need the involvement of the Saudis to make it a “big money” match between Matias and Teofimo because, without them, it’s not a fight that will have a lot of PPV buys. Of course, Teofimo is not a PPV attraction, and neither is Matias.
“That could happen here, probably in America, and maybe in Saudi Arabia,” Hearn said. “I think that’s one of the best fights [Teofimo vs. Matias] in the section. If you think about it, in reality, Teofmo Lopez and Devin Haney are not going to come to Puerto Rico and fight Subriel Matias.
“That’s why you have to take your hat off to Liam Paro; he is one of the few who did. It’s bad enough fighting Subriel Matias in America. “It’s bad enough fighting Subriel Matias in your backyard, let alone in his back garden,” Hearn said.
I don’t think Teofimo would agree to fight Matias, even in his hometown of Brooklyn, New York. Teo seems to lack confidence these days and is excited to defend his WBO title against the likes of Steve Claggett and Jamaine Ortiz.
Building global recognition for Matias
“Liam is a great fighter, and he’s a great fighter, and he’s a very smart fighter,” Hearn said. “So it will be a big fight. We don’t need to build Subriel Matias in Puerto Rico. You are already building. Check out what happened on Saturday.
“We are in Manati. We are not in San Juan, and you will have 10,000. The atmosphere will be amazing. We just need a perfume around the world. We need to make people happy about him. We need people to want to see him in a big fight, and I think, fight fans definitely want to see him in big fights now.”
It will be interesting to watch Matias fight in front of a large crowd because his recent fights have not been in front of large crowds.
“We have to go on if he looks good on Saturday night; He will put pressure on us, and we have to deliver,” said Hearn about Matias.
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