Teofimo Lopez says he is interested in defending his WBO light welterweight title against Ryan Garcia next. Lopez (21-1, 13 KOs) says he is “The King of the 140 lb division,” and he will be giving Ryan a chance. 55-45 classification with him as a B-side. Obviously that won’t go over well with Ryan, as it didn’t endear him to Devin Haney.
Ryan (24-1, 20 KOs) is unlikely to agree to any offer involving Teofimo as the A-side. Teofimo isn’t popular enough to call the shots in talks to fight Ryan.
Titles Don’t Matter
Lopez feels that his WBO means something in discussions with Ryan, Haney, and George Kambosos, who are not listed. Having a world title means nothing when you’re interviewing famous competitors; in this case, Ryan is more famous than Teofimo because of him 12 million Instagram followers.
Teo’s 15 minutes of fame have disappeared after a loss to George Kambosos in 2021 and two controversial victories over Sandor Martin and Jamaine Ortiz. You could argue that Teofimo isn’t as popular now as he was in 2020 when he beat an injured Vasily Lomachenko with a 12-round unanimous decision.
Many fans believe that Top Rank was protecting Teofimo with their game and that he would not be anywhere without them. It is thought that if he had not been associated with Top Rank, he would have lost his fights with Sandor Martin and Jamaine Ortiz.
Since then, Teofimo has been in freefall, with repeated bad performances and zero wins against famous fighters. Sorry, washed up Josh Taylor doesn’t count. That is Teofimo’s best win since defeating the injured Vasily Lomchenko in 2020.
King Complex?
Teofimo’s situation with Top Rank is sour right now, and it is not clear that he will be in a position to fight anyone, least of all Ryan who has a 55-45 split.
“Right now, Ryan is not fighting,” said Teofimo when he was told that Ryan Garcia wants to fight him. I’ll see if I can call Oscar [De La Hoya] and see what happens. Everything has to make sense. You can’t say, ‘Hey, let’s argue.’ Wishful thinking, no,” Teofimo Lopez told Little Giant Boxing about his interest in fighting Ryan Garcia.
“We have to give them something to get them interested in it. I try to be fair as best I can. I’m thinking a 55-45 split, knowing I’m the King of my class at 140 lbs, defending the WBO World title and Ring Magazine on top of that, which is a streak. Yes, 55-45 seems like a reasonable split.
Teofimo is NOT the King of light welterweight, as we saw in his fights with Sandor Martin and Jamaine Ortiz. He was gifted with decisions in both these battles. If Teofimo says that he is the King more popularly than anyone else, he is out. Devin Haney, Ryan, and Liam Paro are the most popular.
Best Fighters at 140
Liam Paro
Devin Haney
Arnold Barboza Jr
Jose Ramirez
Ryan Garcia
Alberto Puello
Jose ‘Rayo’ Valenzuela
Jack Catterall
Gary Antoine Russell
Jamaine Ortiz
Sandor Martin
Oscar Duarte
Subriel Matias
Ryan is unable to fight due to his suspension, which runs until the end of April 2025. When Ryan resumes his career, he will likely plan. So, if Teofimi thinks Ryan is going to fight him right away in April, he’s delusional.
“It’s really 5% if you think about it because if you cut the other 5, it will be a tax even if it goes to your team. If Ryan is watching. You can’t fight, bro. You are in the same problem as I am on Fanmio until Golden Boy allows it. I think they will, but we have to see,” said Lopez.
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