Teofimo Lopez accepts challenge of a catchweight fight with Ryan Garcia this year
WBO super-lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez has revealed that he has had talks with Ryan Garcia and his team and declared that he would gladly accept a catchweight bout with the 25-year-old superstar that could take place as soon as September.
Lopez is set to return to action for a second time in 2024 in June, after reports of a u-turn in his proposed fight with Canada’s Steve Claggett due to criticism from fans when the bout was leaked. This comes after Lopez controversially outpointed Jamaine Ortiz back in February, where many felt that the challenger had done enough to put an early end to the reign of ‘The Takeover’.
Meanwhile, Ryan Garcia re-announced himself as one of the ‘faces’ of boxing with an upset win over Devin Haney last weekend, knocking down the previously undefeated WBC 140lb champion for the first, second and third time of his career on the way to a memorable majority-decision win that can only be described as the performance of the year thus far.
However, Garcia’s difficulties making the weight meant that he did not win Haney’s crown, instead prompting a move up to welterweight – where Garcia has been linked with a title challenge on his 147lb debut against IBF title-holder Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis.
Yet, in an interview with Punsh Drunk Boxing, Teofimo Lopez announced that talks have been held between his team and Garcia’s in relation to a potential catchweight showdown later this year, explaining that he has no issues in moving up in weight to chase the sports’ biggest names.
“I spoke to the team and I spoke to the lawyer of Top Rank, I spoke to a group of them and told them exactly how I wanted this to be planned out. We will see what happens man, we even said ‘hey’ to Ryan [Garcia] and his team, we could do something in September or December. It doesn’t necessarily have to be at my weight class, it can be at a catchweight. That way we don’t have to have any problems moving forward.
“I was trying to fight [Terence] Crawford at 147lbs and 154lbs but people don’t believe whatever they don’t want to believe.”
Teofimo was expected to take on Claggett on June 29th but it remains to be seen whether an alternate opponent can be found or whether fans will be forced to settle for the 38-7-2 contender, who is ranked 13th with the WBO. A summer outing would give Lopez the chance to prove that he is a worthy champion and impress the world of boxing with a statement win, before moving on to what would ultimately be the most high-profile fight of his career to date against ‘King Ry’.
Whereas Jaron Ennis will take on Cody Crowley with a date announced imminently, meaning the winner of Garcia-Lopez could possibly be lined up for the title shot.