NEW YORK – Oscar De La Hoya doesn’t know why it took so long for Teofimo Lopez to agree to finally fight Arnold Barboza Jr.

Both boxers were promoted by Bob Arum’s Top Rank Inc. for most of their careers. The unbeaten Barboza was also the WBO’s number one contender in the junior welterweight division for most of the 22 months Lopez has held its 140-pound championship.

Barboza, who won the WBO interim title February 15, and Lopez definitely don’t like each other, either. De La Hoya, who became Barboza’s promoter 17 months ago, suspects Lopez prevented their fight from happening until now because he is certain Barboza wanted it to take place long ago.

”I keep thinking about Teofimo not wanting to fight Barboza for a long time,” De La Hoya told The Ring. “And there’s a reason for that. I’m not sure whether they sparred, whether they fought in the amateurs, they know their styles. I’m not exactly sure why they wouldn’t fight. This has been going on since 2021, for three, four years. Same promoter, so I never understood it. It’s hard to wrap my head around that one. But I think it’s a great fight.”

The Brooklyn-born Lopez (21-1, 13 KOs) is set to defend his Ring and WBO belts against Barboza (32-0, 11 KOs) as part of The Ring’s “FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves” show Friday night in Times Square. DraftKings lists Lopez as more than a 2-1 favorite to win the second of four bouts DAZN Pay-Per-View will distribute in the United States for $59.99.

Lopez, 27, will end a 10-month layoff when he boxes Barboza, who will fight a third championship-caliber opponent in the past five months.

Barboza beat British southpaw Jack Catterall (30-2, 13 KOs) by split decision February 15 at Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England to win the WBO interim junior welterweight crown. He recorded a more decisive 10-round, unanimous-decision victory over former WBC/WBO 140-pound champ Jose Ramirez (29-2, 18 KOs) on November 16 at ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The 33-year-old Barboza’s belief in himself has never been stronger after back-to-back noteworthy wins helped him ascend to the No. 3 spot in The Ring’s junior welterweight rankings. Lopez, however, is an athletic, skilled boxer-puncher who was once a unified lightweight champ and soundly defeated former undisputed junior welterweight champ Josh Taylor (then 19-0) to win The Ring and WBO belts in June 2023.

“It’s gonna be a very, very interesting test for Barboza,” De La Hoya said. “He’s game for it, he’s ready, he’s sharp. Teofimo hasn’t fought in I don’t even know how long. Was it June? You know, it’s gonna be quite interesting. You have to consider all those variables coming into play and really make a calculated decision because this fight is 50-50.

“I really do think this is a 50-50 fight. Barboza is very calm. He takes his time and he’ll wait for you to make mistakes. But he hits hard and he’s aggressive, so it’s very interesting to see if Teofimo is gonna be so emotional. Because we’ve seen him outside the ring, acting the way he has been acting.”