By Sean Jones: Michael Conlan says that undisputed lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez will destroy Ryan Garcia, who he feels isn’t ready for that type of fight after his win over Luke Campbell.
Ryan (21-0, 18 KOs) passed his toughest test to date in stopping the highly experienced Campbell (20-4, 16 KOs) in a seventh-round last Saturday night at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
It’s hard not to think that Teofimo Lopez would have smashed Ryan to pieces if he’d been the one inside the ring with him rather than Campbell, who isn’t the biggest puncher.
Although Campbell put Ryan down in the second round with a left to the head, he’s not a big hitter like Teofimo and Tank. The fact that Campbell didn’t try and capitalize on having Ryan hurt isn’t surprising because he knows he’s not a puncher.
Following Ryan’s win, ESPN posted a new fab four Tweet of the top lightweights, which consisted of these fighters:
- Ryan Garcia
- Gervonta Davis
- Teofimo Lopez
- Devin Haney
Missing from that list was Vasily Lomachenko, who was viewed as the top guy at 135. In reaction to the list by ESPN, Stevenson and Teofimo both laughed at it on social media.
Although Shakur and Teofimo didn’t say what they had an issue with, it’s a certainty they didn’t like seeing the still unproven Ryan Garcia’s name among the list. Ryan is still an unproven upstart in comparison to the other fighters on the list.
Of the four fighters on ESPN’s new fab-4 list, Ryan is the only one that has yet to win a world title.
It was far from an easy fight for Ryan, though, as he was knocked down in the second by Campbell and repeatedly hit with left hands during the contest.
The outcome was still very much in doubt when Ryan caught the 33-year-old Campbell with a left to the body to send him down for the count in round seven.
Teofimo (16-0, 12 KOs) took to social media on Sunday to let his boxing fans know that they were a legitimate lightweight champ. The others are “paper champions” in referring to Devin Haney and Gervonta ‘Tank Davis.
And yes I still think @TeofimoLopez wipes him out, still too soon atm. #GarciaCampbell
— Michael Conlan (@mickconlan11) January 3, 2021
Oddly enough, Ryan didn’t mention Teofimo Lopez’s name after his win over Campbell last Saturday. The fighter that King Ryan called out was WBA lightweight champion Tank Davis (24-0, 23 KOs), who he feels is the guy that will make him a star if he beats him.
Ryan’s failure to mention Teofimo’s name could be a sign that he doesn’t believe he’s ready to face a talent like him. Even though the 23-year-old Teofimo is only a year older than Ryan, he’s far more advanced with his career.
We’ve seen that recently with Teofimo’s victories over Lomachenko and Richard Commey.
Don’t matter how you cut it, slice it or dice it.. I am THE Lightweight World Champion! All these dudes just holding up (Paper Belts).
— Teofimo Lopez (@TeofimoLopez) January 4, 2021