“I’m going to 147, The weight class is going to welcome me very well,” Teofimo told Ring Magazine. “There are talks for sure, maybe in the summer,” Teofimo said of a fight with Ryan. “He’s coming down to 147. If the opportunity is there, we’ll make it happen,” Teofimo said of Conor Benn.
Ryan has already mentioned July 25 as a target date. For Teo, it’s the high-reward battle that justifies the move.
From a competitive standpoint, Ryan Garcia is essentially providing a lifeline to a guy who was just shut out. Teofimo’s performance against Shakur Stevenson on Jan. 31 was brutal to watch, losing 119-109 on all three cards at the Garden doesn’t exactly scream mandatory challenger.
It looks more and more like Teofimo is being left in the dust as Ryan targets Conor Benn.
Ryan’s recent social media activity, calling for the Conor Benn fight and predicting a mid-round stoppage, makes it pretty clear where his head is at.
If Garcia fights Teo now, he’s fighting a guy who has looked shaky for years and has been locked out in his own backyard. This is a fight that could be a disaster on PPV because many of the casual fans have lost faith in the “Takeover”.
Even though Benn looked vulnerable against Prograis, he is still winning and has the UK market behind him. For Ryan, Benn represents a “fresh big-money fight, while Teo feels like a repeat of a story that has already ended.
If Turki Alalshikh is unwilling to subsidize a Ryan-Teofimo legacy battle, Teo is in a tough spot. He is essentially a 147 pounder without a home and without a win in his new division.
Ryan Garcia is looking for the biggest spectacle possible, and right now, a villain vs. villain built with Conor Benn significantly more profitable than a lifeline fight for Teofimo.
