Devin Haney and Teofimo Lopez have each signed a contract to fight August 16 in Saudi Arabia, an official with knowledge of the negotiation told BoxingScene on Monday.
The bout pitting the pair of two-division champions – who each won on the May 2 Times Square card in New York – is an anticipated clash of two of the so-called “Four Horsemen,” a phrase coined by member Ryan Garcia that also includes unbeaten lightweight titleholder Gervonta “Tank” Davis.
Davis is also scheduled to fight August 16, defending his WBA lightweight belt in a rematch versus Lamont Roach Jnr in Las Vegas.
The bout between Haney and Lopez is expected to be fought at a catch-weight of 145 pounds, according to an official, and the pair have agreed to enroll in random drug testing administered by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA).
Lopez, 22-1 (13 KOs), was asked about his next fight and Haney, 32-0 (15 KOs), on Friday night at the Golden Boy Promotions fight card in Las Vegas. Lopez smiled, raised his eyebrows and said, “Maybe him.”
Haney’s father/trainer/manager, Bill Haney, pressed for the Lopez fight in a recent conversation with BoxingScene, saying Haney was a more attractive, more lucrative choice than unified welterweight titleholder Jaron “Boots” Ennis.
“I thought you [were] looking for the big-money fight? That's what you complained about your whole career – that you weren't able to earn the right … but now there’s nowhere else to run and no place else to hide,” Bill Haney said of Lopez on May 16.
The elder Haney was also upset at Lopez’s apparent utterance of a racial epithet last month.
“Devin told me he will beat Teofimo for all the disrespect he has uttered, to tell him, ‘Take it back’ every round and take back every word he’s said disrespecting the culture,” Bill Haney said. “He knows Devin is going to be a punishment. There will be no more Teofimo Lopez; just like there’s been no more JoJo Diaz; [Vasiliy] Lomachenko; [Jorge] Linares; Regis Prograis [other opponents beaten by Haney].
“[Lopez is] picking people and barking up the wrong tree.”
Lopez, the current WBO titleholder and lineal champion, defeated then-unbeaten interim titleholder Arnold Barboza Jnr at the May 2 card in Times Square, and Haney followed by defeating former unified 140lbs titleholder Jose Ramirez in a bout that drew criticism for its inactivity.
Instead of fighting Garcia next, however, in a rematch of their controversial 2024 no-contest in New York, Haney, 26, watched Garcia lose the May 2 main event to Rolando “Rolly” Romero. Haney therefore is turning his attention to the 27-year-old Lopez.
The card, which has yet to be formally announced by Saudi Arabia boxing financier Turki Alalshikh, is expected to land on DAZN.