Top Rank boxer Teofimo Lopez appeared to claim he is attempting to force his way out of his contract with the promoter.
Lopez’s upcoming fight with George Kambosos Jr. ultimately went to Triller after he forced a purse bid following a failure to agree a deal with Top Rank for the event.
That had led to suggestions that Top Rank warned others from bidding for the event, with Eddie Hearn describing the mood as ‘toxic’.
The 23-year-old unified champion seems to have lost patience with the company too, and told DAZN’s Ak & Barak that he would be consulting lawyers over any potential action.
“I’ve got to do what I do best, I’ve got to stand on it,” he said of his decision to go to a purse bid.
“This is another stepping stone, I’m always going to better myself.
“We’re going to meet up with a lawyer, we’ll figure that out. In the meantime, we’ll be in LA this week, meeting [Triller boss] Ryan Kavanagh, he wants to meet me. We’ll just go from there. My goal is to stay focused on this fight.”
Lopez explained the root cause of his antipathy towards Top Rank.
“Todd DuBoef will be the next representative for Top Rank, and I tried to be as cordial as I could be, but when someone is bragging they’re trying to stop you from getting purse bids, and bragging that they want to ‘teach this kid a lesson,’ of course you’re going to feel some kind of way,” he began.
“I thought this was business, nothing personal. Now it’s got to the point it went back on him. This is what happens. I know what I’m worth, if they could have treated us with respect, we wouldn’t be in this situation. Honestly, God got better plans for me.
“I see myself as this fight or my next fight as a free agent. There’s so much proof for me to get out of this Top Rank contract, they gave me the golden ticket. They dug a bigger hole than they needed to.”
“If we hit two million views I’m on the cusp of becoming a pay per view star.”