Teofimo Lopez says he still has questions about how Zuffa Boxing’s championship structure will work, calling the proposed Zuffa title belt “just a trophy” while discussing the growing influence of Dana White and Turki Alalshikh’s new venture.
Lopez said he believes Zuffa Boxing could eventually become a major force in the sport, but noted that traditional sanctioning bodies still control much of boxing’s championship structure.
“The Zuffa belt, from what I heard, is just a trophy. It’s not necessarily a sanctioning body belt,” said Teofimo to Fighthype. “But things can change within the time frame of 10 years. Obviously, Zuffa has their own promotion and competitors can make it, let’s just say, difficult for the sanctioning bodies. But everybody has got to come together eventually.”
Teofimo then pointed to the rumored Conor Benn vs. Ryan Garcia fight as an example of how traditional world titles could still become attached to Zuffa-backed events.
“If they’re talking, and that’s just rumors, of Conor Benn and Ryan Garcia, if that’s the case, the WBC is going to be on the line,” said Lopez. “And if Conor Benn is with Zuffa, then what are we talking about? In 2015, Al Haymon, when they were really launching everything, they were overpaying everybody. Then Eddie Hearn with Matchroom came, they were overpaying everybody. Now you got Zuffa Boxing. They’re overpaying everybody. It’s just a new cycle.”
Teofimo also suggested some of the resistance toward Zuffa Boxing may be connected to the personalities involved rather than the concept itself.
“Dana White and Nick Khan, people don’t like them. Well, from what I hear, 60% is owned by Turki. So what are we talking about?”
The comments come as Zuffa Boxing continues signing fighters and generating speculation about how the promotion plans to operate alongside boxing’s existing sanctioning-body system.
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Last Updated on 2026/05/07 at 7:53 PM
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