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Teofimo Lopez Says He Can Box Ryan Garcia At A Catchweight – ‘In September Or December’

Originally posted on BoxingNews.com | Last updated 4/30/24

Teofimo Lopez wants to face Ryan Garcia and is willing to meet the boxer at a catchweight.

Garcia is in demand after securing the biggest win of his career, dropping Devin Haney three times. The victory was clouded by controversy, as Garcia exceeded the junior welterweight limit by 3.2 pounds. That meant he could not secure Haney’s WBC Junior Welterweight Title, as The Dream remained the champion. While that may be the case, Garcia is still the face of boxing.

Garcia’s Following

His following has increased rapidly on social media as fans from both the hardcore and the casuals flocked to him. His following on X is nearly one million, while his Instagram following is near 12 million. Garcia has shown he cannot make 140 pounds, meaning he can face boxers at a catchweight or move up to 147 or 154 pounds. However, given the amount of money Garcia can offer, he is the A-side. Lopez is the current WBO Junior Welterweight Champion after having defeated Josh Taylor to secure the belt, only to retire. Lopez claimed he would only come out of retirement to secure nine-figure paydays.

“I am going to announce my retirement from the sport of boxing. At the young age of 25-year-young, I believe I am the first male to become a two-time undisputed world champion [in the four belt era]…I have a lot of ideas and I have a lot of things [I want to do in the] sport of boxing, I really can’t [do them] if I am always in the gym, training and preparing for another upcoming fight. Only way you get Teofimo back is a nine-figure contract. I’ve made ESPN over $100 million and getting paid $1 million. Fighters that have not even done a quarter of what I’ve accomplished get $15m,” Lopez revealed

He backtracked on those comments, facing Jamaine Ortiz in his next bout. That was a controversial win for Lopez, with some believing Ortiz had done enough to outbox him. Given that Lopez still wants those big paydays, he will face Garcia as a catchweight.

Lopez On Garcia

“I talked to Top Rank about how I wanted this to be planned out. We said something to Ryan [Garcia] and his team that we can do something in September or December. It doesn’t have to be at my weight class [140]. It can be a catchweight. So that way we don’t have to have any problems moving forward,” Lopez said

Nevertheless, Garcia’s focus appears elsewhere. Following his victory, he called out Isaac Cruz Sebastian Fundora and Errol Spence Jr. Garcia has pursued Spence the most as they both trained under Derrick James before Errol left following his loss to Terence Crawford. The relationship between Spence, Garcia and James has deteriorated. This was after James sued Spence because he did not pay him the money he was owed. Spence had received a guaranteed purse of $25 million for the Crawford fight.

James stated this required him to receive 10%, including the PPV. However, James was not paid this amount as he sued Spence. Spence denied those claims and countered them, which has left the pair going to court to resolve this. Garcia reacted by stating that he would beat up Spence, increasing the narrative that they could make the fight. Since Garcia and Spence are big names, they would undoubtedly do big business. But if that fight does not happen, Lopez is ready to capitalise on any situation.

This article first appeared on BoxingNews.com and was syndicated with permission.

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