Teofimo Lopez claims Ryan Garcia wanted to fight him before his September 12 bout against Conor Benn was made, with Turki Alalshikh pushing Garcia toward the Benn fight instead.
Garcia meets Benn at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, but Lopez insists that wasn’t the fight Ryan originally wanted.
“Conor and Ryan are fighting because it’s a Turki thing. Turki pushed that fight,” Teofimo said to Fighthype. “It wasn’t something that Ryan wanted. Ryan wanted to fight me, but, you know, it’s a business at the same time.”
Ryan has since named Lopez among the opponents he wants to face after Benn, along with Rolando Romero and Shakur Stevenson. That shows the interest is there, although it doesn’t establish how close Garcia and Lopez were to actually fighting.
Teofimo has his own fight to win first. He challenges WBA welterweight champion Romero on August 22 in Las Vegas, attempting to capture a title in a third weight division.
Wins by Garcia and Lopez would leave both operating at 147 pounds with a marketable fight available between them. Teofimo would also own the WBA belt, giving Garcia another reason to pursue the matchup.
Garcia has mentioned Romero as a possible opponent as well, meaning Rolly could put himself in position for a rematch if he defeats Lopez.
Lopez believes money and promotional relationships are increasingly determining which fights get made.
“Everybody’s right now more on the money side,” Lopez said. “Everybody’s associated with somebody. Takeover is on his own with his own.”
Teofimo is coming off his January loss to Shakur Stevenson and will be making his welterweight debut against Romero. Rolly already owns a decision victory over Garcia, giving Teofimo a chance to strengthen his case for a Garcia fight with an impressive performance on August 22.
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Last Updated on 2026/08/12 at 12:06 AM
