WBO 140-lb champion Teofimo Lopez says he’s in negotiations to fight a unification match next against IBF light welterweight champ Richardson Hitchins to happen next.
Teofimo (21-1, 13 KOs) will then move up to 147 and challenge IBF welterweight champion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis in October on the Ryan Garcia vs. Devin Haney 2 card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. If Lopez is victorious against Ennis, he’ll face the Garcia-Haney 2 winner in February 2026 in Riyadh.
Lopez-Hitchins Unification
Lopez isn’t saying whether he has to win the Hitchins (19-0, 7 KOs) unification fight as a condition for him to face Boots Ennis in October. However, it’s likely that Turki Al-Sheikh will still allow Teofimo to face Ennis in October, even if Richardson beats him because he’s okay with fighters backing into big fights off the back of defeats.
What could be a problem is if Teofimo gets blown out by Hitchins in a humiliating defeat, it’s going to taint a fight between him and Boots in October. There’s an excellent chance 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 looked terrible in his last two fights against seven-loss journeyman Steve Claggett and Jamaine Ortiz. Fans overwhelmingly think Lopez ws gifted a decision against Jamaine, and the same for his fight against Sandor Martin.
“I look forward to a very productive year. We got a three-fight deal that is yet to be disclosed, but we look forward to announcing it very soon,” said Teofimo Lopez to Fight Hub TV about him signing with Turki Al-Sheikh.
“Yes, that’s what it’s looking like, yeah,” said Teofimo when told that he’s hearing from Turki that he’ll fight Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis in October, and then if victorious. he’ll face the winner of the Ryan Garcia vs. Devin Haney 2 fight in February 2026. “Yeah, we’re 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 us winning our next fights, that’s it. That’s as close as it gets until then,” said Lopez when asked how close he is to making the Boots Ennis fight. “At 140 and then we go to 147. We’re talking right now with [IBF light welterweight champion] Richardson Hitchins. We’re going to unify.”
I don’t see Lopez’s three-fight deal with Al-Sheikh ending well. Teo will make a ton of money but likely lose to Richardson next and look like a chum 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 fight in Riyadh. We’ll probably see Teofimo facing Haney, with both of 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 got a good plan,” said Teofimo. “Yeah, we [Hitchins and Teo] know each other. Yeah, we’re looking forward to great things right now. Stay tuned. Very soon,” said Lopez when asked when his fight with Hitchins will take place. That’s the beauty of it. We’re getting everything done right now. That’s the goal. Getting everything done and finalized. My legal team is doing a great job, and that’s it.”
The way Richardson Hitchins dominated IBF 140-lb champion Liam Paro last month on December 7th in San Juan, Puerto Rico, he’s going to beat Teofimo and expose him as being a washed-up fighter. Lopez has looked over the hill since his loss to Kambosos Jr. in 2021, and he’s continued to look bad in repeated performances over the last four years. Teo took a lot of punishment in his win over Vasily Lomachenko in 2020, and it hasn’t been the same since.
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