Teofimo Lopez says he’s interested in defending his WBO light welterweight title against Ryan Garcia next. Lopez (21-1, 13 KOs) states that he’s “King of the 140 lb division,” and he’d be offering Ryan a 55-45 split with him as the B-side. That obviously won’t go over with Ryan, just as it didn’t interest Devin Haney.
Ryan (24-1, 20 KOs) is not likely to agree to any offer involving Teofimo that has him as the A-side. Teofimo isn’t popular enough to call the shots in a fight negotiations with Ryan.
Titles Don’t Matter
Lopez feels that his WBO means something in negotiations with Ryan, Haney, and George Kambosos, which doesn’t count much. Holding a world title means nothing when negotiating with popular contenders; in this case, Ryan is far more popular than Teofimo due to his 12 million Instagram followers.
Teo’s 15 minutes of fame has disappeared after his loss to George Kambosos in 2021 and two controversial wins over Sandor Martin and Jamaine Ortiz. You can argue that Teofimo is less popular now than he was in 2020 when he beat an injured, one-armed Vasily Lomachenko by a narrow 12-round unanimous decision.
Many fans believe that Top Rank has been protecting Teofimo with their matchmaking and that he would be nowhere without them. It’s thought that if he weren’t well-connected with Top Rank, he would have been given defeats in his fights with Sandor Martin and Jamaine Ortiz.
Since then, Teofimo has been in freefall, with repeated poor performances and zero wins over popular fighters. Sorry, the washed Josh Taylor doesn’t count. That’s Teofimo’s best win since his victory over the injured Vasily Lomchenko in 2020.
King Complex?
Teofimo’s situation with Top Rank is murky right now, and it’s unclear if he’s going to be in the position to fight anyone, least of all Ryan with the 55-45 split.
“Right now, Ryan don’t got a fight,” said Teofimo when told that Ryan Garcia wants to fight him. I’ll see if I’ll call Oscar [De La Hoya] and see what’s up. Everything has to make sense. It can’t be, ‘Hey, let’s just make a fight.’ Wishful thinking, no,” said Teofimo Lopez to Little Giant Boxing about his interest in fighting Ryan Garcia.
“We got to give them something to be interested in it. I try to be fair the best way I can. I think a 55-45 split, knowing I’m the King of my division at 140 lbs, defending the WBO World title and the Ring Magazine on top of that, which is lineal. Yeah, 55-45 seems like a reasonable split.
Teofimo is NOT the King of the light welterweight division, as we saw in his fights against Sandor Martin and Jamaine Ortiz. He was gifted with decisions in both of those fights. If Teofimo means he’s the King in terms of being more popular than anyone else, he’s off. Devin Haney, Ryan, and Liam Paro are more popular.
The Best Fighters at 140
Liam Paro
Devin Haney
Arnold Barboza Jr
Jose Ramirez
Ryan Garcia
Alberto Puello
Jose ‘Rayo’ Valenzeula
Jack Catterall
Gary Antuanne Russell
Jamaine Ortiz
Sandor Martin
Oscar Duarte
Subriel Matias
Ryan isn’t able to fight due to his suspension, which doesn’t end until late April 2025. When Ryan does resume his career, he’ll likely take a tune-up. So, if Teofimi is thinking that Ryan will fight him right away in April, he’s kidding himself.
“It’s really 5% if you think about it because if you’re cutting off the other 5, it’s either going to taxes or going to your team. If Ryan is watching. You got no fight, bro. You’re in the same kind of predicament that I’m in the Fanmio until Golden Boy allows it. I think they will, but we got to see,” said Lopez.
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