Ryan Garcia says he will fight Teofimo Lopez when he returns to the ring this year after his suspension expires. This goes along with what Garcia’s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, is saying.
Garcia moves on
Oscar said there was no point in Ryan fighting Devin Haney again because he had already “destroyed” him. He says the fight he wants for Garcia is WBO light welterweight champion Teofimo (21-1, 13 KOs), who has no opponent after opting not to defend against Subriel Matias.
Teofimo’s career has stalled since his loss to George Kambosos Jr. in 2021. Although he captured the WBO 140-lb title from a washed-up Josh Taylor in 2023, he looked awful in fights against Steve Claggett, Jamaine Ortiz and Sandor Martin.
It’s clear that Top Rank misjudged Teofimo and should have thrown him out after his loss to Kambosos rather than give him a reprieve. He has shown no improvement since that loss.
Garcia says he would “roll” with Haney, but he would have to drop the lawsuit he has against him. Haney hasn’t said if he will, but his recent comments suggest he won’t. Unfortunately, that leaves him high and dry, but he still has Turki Al-Shiekh. He still believes in him and will help him out this year.
If Devin loses once or twice this year, Turki will get a clue and probably give up on him. He will realize that he is not worth artificially rising with time and money. It would be better for Turki to give up on Haney sooner rather than later because he is a lost cause.
“I’ll Whoop His A**” – Garcia
“I will be ready for whatever happens. Looks like I’m going to fight Teofimo Lopez. So, that’s good. I saw him today. He’s a little weird, but other than that, I’m ready to scratch his a**,” Ryan Garcia continues Second salt about him fighting Teofimo Lopez next.
“I don’t know. You have to wait and see,” Ryan said when asked about his fight with Teofimo. “But after fighting him, I will be the first one to fight all three of the so-called ‘Four Kings’. I am the only one of them who fought against all of them. Tank, Devin and Teofimo Lopez.
‘I’m out here actually throwing it down with everybody. Everyone seems to be scared or whatever is going on here
“Not for me,” Ryan said when asked if it was important to fight Devin Haney again in order for him to be vindicated because his victory was tainted and taken away by the New York State Athletic Commission due to his positive drug test. “Fighting Teofimo Lopez would be just as satisfying as me doing a rematch with Devin.”
Ryan will get a lot more credit for beating Teofimo at this point than he would Haney because he’s already knocked the brakes out of him. He beat Haney everywhere in the ring from the first round.
Few would give Haney much of a chance in a rematch with Garcia after the way he beat him last April.
The boxing public will be very interested in a Garcia vs Teofimo fight as the two have never fought before. The WBO 140-lb belt will be on the line, and Teofimo can do his part to help promote the fight. In Devin’s case, he relies on his father, Bill, to do much of the work of generating interest. It doesn’t work that well.
“Again, I’m not saying I won’t. I would throw with him (Haney) again, but they have to stop all this nonsense (dropping the lawsuit) before I even get in there,” Garcia said.
It does not appear that Haney and Bill plan to drop the lawsuit. They seem to be dug in and will likely fight their pack to the bitter end, even if it shoots themselves in the foot.
