Teofimo wants Ryan Garcia, Tank, and Haney to prove themselves worthy to face him

By Boxing News - 10/21/2020 - Comments

By Aragon Garcia: Teofimo Lopez won’t commit to a fight against Ryan Garcia for his next match until he proves himself worthy for a fight against him by beating Luke Campbell on December 5th.

IBF/WBA/WBC/WBO lightweight champion Lopez (16-0, 12 KO) says that the other top lightweights, Gervonta Davis and Devin Haney, also must prove themselves by winning their next fights to stay in the running for his next bout in 2021.

Lopez did his part in proving himself by beating highly rated pound-for-pound fighter Vasily Lomachenko by a 12 round unanimous decision last Saturday night on ESPN, and now he wants his potential suitors to his throne to prove themselves worthy as well.

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum has already revealed his hand, letting boxing fans know that he’s raring to go in setting up a fight between Lopez, 23, and Ryan Garcia in early next year.

Arum is just waiting for the outcome of Ryan’s December 5th fight against the always tough Luke Campbell before he starts the negotiations.

Of course, Arum will need the green light given to him by Lopez to start negotiations with Golden Boy Promotions for the fight with Garcia, so we’ll see what happens.

Ryan, Tank, and Haney must prove themselves

Image: Teofimo wants Ryan Garcia, Tank, and Haney to prove themselves worthy to face him

“These guys need me, I don’t need them,” Teofimo said to TMZ when asked if he’d be interested in fighting Ryan Garcia. “The only thing that changes is they got to show me something now.

“They got to worry about their guy first. They can’t have a fight with Teofimo if they don’t get their part done first,” said Lopez about Ryan needing to win his December 5th fight against Luke Campbell.

“That goes for Devin Haney, Gervonta Davis, or any of the guys in the 135 division if they want to try and take my throne. Let’s see what happens,” said Lopez.

WBA ‘regular’ lightweight champion Tank Davis (23-0, 22 KOs) fights later this month against Leo Santa Cruz on October 31st.  Davis, 25, could lose that fight to Santa Cruz. Leo is looking real good in his training for the fight.

WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney (24-0, 15 KOs) will be fighting Yuriorkis Gamboa on December 7th in a fight that is a toss-up right now. Gamboa has better physical tools and pedigree than Haney, who is unproven and has been matched selectively by his handlers.

Lopez will probably pick the fighter to bring him the most amount of money out of those three guys. Tank is a good fight for Lopez, but it would be a nightmare for Arum and his Top Rank company to put that fight together.