Bob Arum has teased a possible blockbuster showdown between Teofimo Lopez and Devin Haney if the WBO super-lightweight champion defends his title this weekend.
Lopez (20-1 (13)) makes his second defence of the belt against Steve Claggett (38-7-2 (26)) in Miami on Sunday, live on Sky Sports Action and Main Event from 2am, and promoter Arum already has his sights on what comes next for the American.
A clash with compatriot Haney (31-0 (15)), currently designated as ‘champion in recess’ by the WBC following his no-contest against Ryan Garcia in April, is among the potentially mouth-watering matches on the horizon if the 26-year-old defeats Canadian challenger Claggett.
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Teofimo Lopez returns to the ring this weekend as he defends his world title against Steve Claggett
“There are a lot of 140lb champions who would make really good matches for Lopez,” Arum told Sky Sports.
“There’s Devin Haney – he and Haney would make a great fight.
“There is a lot of activity in those weight divisions and if Teofimo comes through, he has a lot of big fights in front of him.”
Meanwhile, Arum is hoping to see Shakur Stevenson put on a big display when he defends the WBC title against Artem Harutyunyan, live on Sky Sports Action on Sunday, July 7 from 1am.
Bob Arum wants an ‘exciting’ performance from Shakur Stevenson in next month’s title defence
WBA champion Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis and IBF title-holder Vasily Lomachenko are among the other names in the mix at the top of the 135lb division, but Arum is eager to see Stevenson (21-0 (10)) show what he is truly capable of with an eye-catching display against Harutyunyan (12-1 (7)).
“I want to see a real top performance from Shakur,” Arum said. “It’s an exciting fight.
“I know if he goes in and pecks away, he can beat anybody but that doesn’t entertain people and professional boxing is part entertainment, so I want him to engage in an entertaining fight.
“That lightweight division is loaded; Tank Davis just scored another knockout against Frank Martin in a very exciting fight…Lomachenko now has one of the lightweight titles, and he and Davis would be a massive, massive fight.
“There is a lot of activity in those divisions and those fighters seem ready and willing to fight each other.”
Watch Teofimo Lopez and Steve Claggett battle for the WBA super-lightweight title on Sunday morning from 2am, live on Sky Sports Action and Sky Sports Main Event. Also stream boxing and more top sport contract-free with NOW.