WBO 140lb champion Teofimo Lopez says he is in negotiations to fight a unification bout against IBF light welterweight champion Richardson Hitchins next.
Teofimo (21-1, 13 KOs) will then move up to 147 and take on IBF welterweight champion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis at the Ryan Garcia vs. Challenge Devin Haney 2 card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. If Lopez prevails against Ennis, he will face the Garcia-Haney 2 winner in February 2026 in Riyadh.
Lopez-Hitchins Unification
Lopez is not saying whether he needs to win the Hitchins (19-0, 7 KOs) unification fight as a condition for him to face Boots Ennis in October. However, it is likely that Turki Al-Sheikh will still allow Teofimo to face Ennis in October even if Richardson beats him, as he is okay with fighters backing down in big fights after defeats.
What could be a problem is if Teofimo is blown out in a humiliating defeat by Hitchins, it will affect a fight between him and Boots in October. There is an excellent chance that Hitchins will dominate Teofimo and make him look worse than George Kambosos Jr, Sandor Martin and Jamaine Ortiz all did. Will Turki still want to use Teo for October to throw him in the ring with Boots Ennis?
That would be the equivalent of rewarding defeat. Lopez has looked terrible in his last two fights against Steve Claggett with seven losses and Jamaine Ortiz. Fans overwhelmingly think that Lopez was given a decision against Jamaine, and the same for his fight against Sandor Martin.
“I am looking forward to a very productive year. We got a three-fight deal that has yet to be announced, but we look forward to announcing it soon,” said Teofimo Lopez. Fight Hub TV about him signing with Turki Al-Sheikh.
“Yeah, that’s what it looks like, yeah,” Teofimo said when told of hearing from Turki that he will fight Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis in October, and then if he wins. he will face the winner of the Ryan Garcia vs. Devin Haney 2 fight in February 2026 encounter. “Yes, we are looking forward to it. It’s all about the best fighting the best, and we’re here to be strong.
“The only thing now is that we win our next fights, that’s it. That’s as close as it gets until then,” Lopez said when asked how close he is to getting the Boots Ennis fight. “At 140 and then we’ll go to 147. We’re now talking to (IBF light welterweight champion) Richardson Hitchins. We are going to unite.”
I don’t see Lopez’s three-fight deal with Al-Sheikh ending well. Teo will earn a ton of money but is likely to lose to Richardson next and look like a chump thrown to a hungry shark in October when he faces IBF welterweight champion Boots Ennis.
Turki plans for the losers of the October card to meet in February in what would be a consolation bout in Riyadh. We’ll likely see Teofimo face Haney, with both their careers on thin ice.
The road to 147
“So, two world title fights (Hitchins & Ennis) lined up and then the prize fight. So, we have a good plan,” said Teofimo. “Yes, we (Hitchins and Teo) know each other. Yes, we are looking forward to big things now. Stay tuned. Very soon,” Lopez said when asked when his fight with Hitchins would take place. That’s the beauty of it. We’re getting everything done now. That is the goal. To get everything done and finalized. My legal team is doing a good job, and that’s it.”
As Richardson Hitchins dominated IBF 140lb champion Liam Paro last month on December 7th in San Juan, Puerto Rico, he is going to beat Teofimo and expose him as a washed-up fighter. Lopez has been looking over the hill since his loss to Kambosos Jr. in 2021, and he has continued to look bad in repeat performances over the past four years. Teo took a lot of punishment in his win over Vasily Lomachenko in 2020, and it hasn’t been the same since.
