Teofimo Lopez favors Ryan Garcia’s sudden switch, giving up on a fight against Devin Haney in favor of facing Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero next. Referring to it as the “Mayweather effect,”
Teofimo doesn’t see it as a bad idea on popular superstar Ryan’s part to target a world title shot against WBA light welterweight champion Rolly (15-1, 14 KOs) in his next fight.
It’s a business move for the 25-year-old Ryan to make a lot of money facing Rolly, who arguably possesses the best promotional skills in the 140-lb division with his personality and his fan-friendly fighting style.
“That’s the Mayweather effect. It’s a smart move. He needs to carry a belt because belts do matter in terms of the percentage we get,” said Teofimo to Fighthype, reacting to Ryan Garcia saying he wants Rolly now instead of Haney.
The positives for Ryan fighting Rolly:
1. More money
2. Greater publicity
3. Winning a belt
4. Becoming a bigger name
Rolly gives Ryan a better chance of winning a world title than facing Haney (31-0, 15 KOs), who has a negative, spoiling style of fighting involving a lot of clinching, movement, jabbing & pot shots.
Moreover, Haney is a true junior middleweight [154-pounder], not a 140-pounder, and that would be a nightmare for Ryan to face a guy who is going to have a massive weight advantage over him on the night.
What Teofimo didn’t say is that if Mayweather were to fight an opponent that outweighed him by 15 to 20 lbs, as Haney would against Ryan, he would likely make sure there would be a rehydration clause and/or a catchweight to make it an even playing field.
Unfortunately, Haney would never agree to weight stipulations for a fight with Ryan, so there’s no possibility of it being a contest between two equally-sized fighters.
Some fans believe Haney sees himself as the A-side for a fight against Ryan, Gervonta Davis, or anyone and that he’s deluded, thinking he’s a superstar after his win against 35-year-old Regis Prograis, controversial victory over Vasily Lomachenko and his two wins against George Kambosos Jr.
Negatives fighting Haney
1. Being outweighed by 15 to 20 lbs
2. Losing fight
3. Bringing in all the fans all by himself: Ryan’s 11 million followers will be the ones that purchase the fight on PPV in large numbers. Sadly, Haney isn’t a draw; his last fight with Regis brought in a horrible 50K on DAZN PPV last December.
Haney’s weight for his last fight against Regis Prograis, rehydrating to 165, suggests that he does not belong at 140, and you have to attribute his success in this weight class at 135 due to his massive size. In other words, he’s a weight bully.
